Mirror Lake

Alger County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey

40ft Max
depth

38 acres 8 contours

Paddling Index76GoodMedium confidenceaway from major roads · sheltered geometry

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Depth scale

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The lake

Survey readout

Mirror Lake is mapped to a depth of 40 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 38 acres in Alger County, Michigan.

Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.

Deepest mapped contour: 40 ft
Mean depth: 19.4 ft · estimated
Surface area: 38 acres
Estimated volume: 746 acre-ft · 243M gal
Shoreline: 0.99 mi · round
Aquatic vegetation: 1% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: No public DNR launch identified

Additional depth details8 contours

Contour depths: 0–40 ft
Recorded point soundings: 40 ft

24.6% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 51.7% is deeper than 20 ft. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.

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Location

Alger County, Michigan · 15 nearest of 105 lakes and 1 bay · tap a dot for that lake

Chart data

Provenance

Sources: MI DNR inland lake contours, USGS 3DEP, USDA NAIP (public domain), OpenStreetMap (ODbL), MI DNR Boat Launches.

⚠ Not for navigation

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Map details & sources5 sources

All layers registered to one bounding box; positions in WGS 84.

Survey-derived depth contours drape over USGS 3DEP elevation, with a USDA NAIP aerial basemap and OpenStreetMap shoreline. Colour shows surveyed depth; dark lines are the survey's own isobaths.

Coordinates: 46.27557, -86.68584
MI DNR lake ID: L33437
Vertical exaggeration: 2.32×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.1 MB

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21

76 / 100GoodData confidence: Medium

Mirror Lake has a partly natural setting, well sheltered geometry, little nearby major-road exposure. No special watercraft restriction is identified in the current source.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

Component	Rating	Points of weight	Measurement
Natural setting	Good	20.4 of 35	64% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (32% forest, 27% wetland; 28% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Excellent	29.4 of 29	mean fetch 419 m · 87% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · short fetch in most directions
Watercraft controls	None identified	8.8 of 18	No special watercraft restriction identified in the current DNR source. Motors permitted, subject to general law.
Public access	Not listed	—	No DNR-listed access site. Township, county and road-end launches are not in this source, so this is not evidence that access is poor — the component is excluded and the remaining weights are renormalized.
Road isolation	Excellent	17.6 of 18	relatively isolated from major roads · 1 MDOT-classified segment within 1.2 km, peak 36 vehicles/day

Additional paddling considerations

These describe the lake but are not part of the v1 Paddling Index and do not change the number above.

Wake sensitivity: Low — wide enough that wakes disperse over most of the lake
Aquatic vegetation: Low — approximately 1% mapped coverage · NAIP aerial imagery (NDVI)
Observed motorized activity: Unknown — No lake-level measurement of boat traffic is available. Legal permission to operate motors is not evidence of use.
Wildlife habitat potential: Moderate — 32% forest and 27% wetland cover within 150 m of shore

Compare Michigan lakes by Paddling Index →

How this index is calculated. The Paddling Index is a relative composite derived from lake geometry and public environmental, access, roadway and watercraft-control data. It is not a user review, a safety rating, or a prediction of an individual outing. Differences of a few points should not be treated as meaningful — an 84 and an 82 are broadly comparable. Components and weights: natural setting 30%, geometric wind exposure 25%, watercraft controls 15%, public access 15%, road isolation 15%; observed motorboat activity is weighted 0% because no defensible lake-level measurement exists. Where a component has no data the remaining weights are renormalized and the confidence rating is lowered; below Medium confidence no number is shown. Sources: MI DNR Watercraft Control Areas (2026-08), USGS/MRLC NLCD Land Cover (2021), MDOT Annual Average Daily Traffic (2025) and MI DNR bathymetric survey outline (0 ft isobath). Conditions change quickly — check current weather and local conditions before going out.

Fish you might catch

from angler catches & active stocking

2 species with recent evidence in this lake — sized relative to each other. Illustrations are AI-generated representative adults in everyday colours, not photographs (provenance).

Rainbow Troutstocked

Brook Trout

Historically stocked, no recent evidence: Splake (last planted 2004), Brown Trout (last planted 2003) — not shown above.

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 2 species found here — 2 open to harvest.

These are hook-and-line size, daily limit and season rules. Gear, spearing and bow fishing, spawning closures and rod limits are set by other Fisheries Orders and are not shown here.

Brook TroutOpen to harvestMinimum size: 10" · Daily limit: 5 (FO-254 · Type B) Five (5) trout, except that the daily possession limit shall not include more than three (3) trout 15 inches or greater.

Rainbow TroutOpen to harvestMinimum size: 12" · Daily limit: 5 (FO-254 · Type B) Five (5) trout, except that the daily possession limit shall not include more than three (3) trout 15 inches or greater.

Beta. This panel is newly published. Every value is parsed from the Michigan DNR fisheries orders and hand-checked against the printed digest, but the coverage and wording are still under review. If anything here disagrees with the Michigan DNR's Fisheries Orders or its printed digest, the DNR is right — the signed Fisheries Order is the legal text; the digest summarises it.

Designated Type B trout lake — season open for the entire year; tackle: all types of natural bait and artificial lures may be used.

From FO-206.26 (eff. 2026-04-01) / FO-215.23A (eff. 2023-09-15) / FO-254.25 (eff. 2025-10-10), checked against the 2026 Michigan Fishing Regulations digest · verified 2026-08-24. Regulations can change — Michigan DNR rules are the controlling source; verify current regulations before fishing. Official regulations

Compiled from registered Master Angler catches and Michigan DNR stockings within the last 10 years. Silhouettes are stylized and scaled to typical adult sizes relative to one another. Presence is not a promise — fishing isn’t a sure thing.

Notable catches

Master Angler program · 1996–2025

Trophy-size fish anglers caught here and registered with the DNR — what people have actually caught, distinct from what a survey netted or the state stocked below.

11Catches recorded

1Species

Brook Trout11 recorded · to 25″ · latest 2025

Biggest on record

Brook Trout25″ · 1996 · still fishing · minnow

Brook Trout19.2″ · 2009 · ice fishing · night crawler

Brook Trout19″ · 2002 · still fishing · worm

Brook Trout17.5″ · 2023 · ice fishing · live bait

Brook Trout17.5″ · 2002 · ice fishing

Bait: live bait (5) · artificial lure (2) · night crawler (1) · worm (1)
Method: ice fishing (8) · still fishing (2) · trolling (1)

Master Angler entries are fish that met the program’s minimum size and were registered by the angler — they show what this lake has produced, not what a day here will produce. A catch on record is history, not a species listing: “Fish you might catch” lists only species with current evidence. Source: Michigan DNR Master Angler data.

DNR stocking

state stocking record · 1979–2026

Fish the Michigan DNR has planted in this lake — what was added, distinct from what a survey netted above.

Rainbow trout39,151 stocked · 1989–2026 · 22 plantings

Brook trout16,604 stocked · 1979–2025 · 24 plantings

Splake43,020 stocked · 1982–2004 · 19 plantings

Brown trout6,050 stocked · 1998–2003 · 3 plantings

Source: Michigan DNR Fish Stocking Database.

Non-native species records

No non-native species recorded in the available dataset. This does not confirm that no non-native species are present.

Source: Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership Conservation Planner; underlying nonindigenous species records from the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database.

At the lake

community-mapped amenities · straight-line distance

⛻ Campground≈1.1 mi

From OpenStreetMap community mapping — shown only where something is mapped; an amenity missing here may still exist. Distances are straight-line. Verify before you rely on it. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Bait & tackle nearby

licensed retail bait dealers · straight-line distance

Midway General Store≈8.1 mi · (906) 573-2450N251 Federal Forest Hwy 13, Wetmore · Google · Apple

Denman's Hardware Inc.≈9.4 mi320 E Superior St, Munising · Google · Apple

Hillside Party Store East LLC≈10.6 miE9825 Co Rd H15, Munising · Google · Apple

Dealers licensed by the Michigan DNR to sell live bait; listing is not an endorsement. Distances are straight-line, not driving — and call ahead: hours and stock change. Source: Michigan DNR retail bait dealer data.

Quick answers

Mirror Lake — common questions

How deep is Mirror Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Mirror Lake is 40 ft. That is the deepest depth the historical survey map records, which may differ from the deepest point of the lake itself.

How big is Mirror Lake?

Mirror Lake covers about 38 acres in Alger County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Mirror Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Mirror Lake is 19.4 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Mirror Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include brook trout, rainbow trout. The page shows the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Mirror Lake?

No public launch for Mirror Lake appears in the Michigan DNR access data. That is not the same as the lake being private -- municipal and private ramps are not in that source.

More lakes in Alger County