Murray Lake

Washtenaw County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey

40ft Max
depth

18 acres 8 contours

Paddling Index67MixedMedium confidencesheltered geometry · wooded shoreline

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Depth scale

0510152025303540

The lake

Survey readout

Murray Lake is mapped to a depth of 40 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 18 acres in Washtenaw County, Michigan.

Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.

Deepest mapped contour: 40 ft
Mean depth: 16.4 ft · estimated
Surface area: 18 acres
Estimated volume: 296 acre-ft · 96M gal
Shoreline: 0.78 mi · lobed
Aquatic vegetation: 17% of surface · NDVI estimate
Trophic state: Mesotrophic · satellite estimate · details
Public access: No public DNR launch identified
Borders: Staebler Farm · Washtenaw County Parks · 24% of shoreline

Additional depth details8 contours

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

36% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 37.2% 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 Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.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

Washtenaw County, Michigan · 15 nearest of 47 lakes · 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.

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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. Color shows surveyed depth; dark lines are the survey's own isobaths.

Coordinates: 42.32817, -83.60473
MI DNR lake ID: L16745
Vertical exaggeration: 2.32× below the waterline; land at true scale
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 1.3 MB

Lake productivity & trophic state

Satellite estimate

Satellite-estimated classification: Mesotrophic. Moderate nutrient levels and biological productivity. Based on satellite estimates of summer chlorophyll-a (LAGOS-US LANDSAT, 2020). No lake-specific measurement is available in this dataset.

Trophic state describes how biologically productive a lake is, based on indicators such as nutrients, algae and water clarity. It is not a swimming-safety or overall water-quality rating.

What do the categories mean?

Oligotrophic≤ 2 µg/L · lower nutrient and algae levels, often clearer water and lower biological productivity.
Mesotrophic · this lake2–7 µg/L · moderate nutrient levels and biological productivity.
Eutrophic7–30 µg/L · higher nutrient levels and biological productivity, often with more algae or aquatic plant growth.
Hypereutrophic> 30 µg/L · very high nutrient levels and biological productivity, with a greater potential for heavy algae growth and low water clarity.

Bands are summer (June–August) mean chlorophyll-a, the green pigment in algae, at the EPA 2012 National Lakes Assessment thresholds. Trophic condition can change over time and by measurement method. Source: Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership Conservation Planner; satellite chlorophyll-a estimates from LAGOS-US LANDSAT.

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-09-23

67 / 100MixedData confidence: Medium

Murray Lake has a mostly natural, lightly developed setting, well sheltered geometry, nearby higher-volume roads. 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	Very Good	23.0 of 35	64% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (38% forest, 26% wetland; 3% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Excellent	29.4 of 29	mean fetch 362 m · 100% 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	Mixed	5.8 of 18	nearby higher-volume roads · 16 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 65,740 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: Moderate — narrow in places — wakes would carry across parts of the lake
Aquatic vegetation: Moderate — approximately 17% 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 — 38% forest and 26% 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 bathymetric survey outline (0 ft isobath), USGS/MRLC NLCD Land Cover (2021), MI DNR Watercraft Control Areas (2026-08) and MDOT Annual Average Daily Traffic (2025). Conditions change quickly — check current weather and local conditions before going out.

Fish you might catch

from angler catches

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

Bluegill

About these fish → the Fish of Michigan guide

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 1 species found here — 1 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.

BluegillOpen to harvestMinimum size: no size limit · Daily limit: 25 (FO-215 · statewide inland) The 25 is in any combination of the sunfishes — Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, Black and White Crappie, Rock Bass, Green, Longear and Redear Sunfish, Warmouth and hybrids — not 25 of each (FO-215.23A).

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 summarizes it.

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 2026-09-15. Regulations can change — Michigan DNR rules are the controlling source; verify current regulations before fishing. Official regulations

Compiled from registered Master Angler catches. 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 · 1997

One Master Angler catch is on record for this lake: 10″ bluegill in 1997 on nightcrawler.

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.

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.

Bait & tackle nearby

licensed retail bait dealers · straight-line distance

Round Haus Pizza & Party Shop≈8.9 mi · (248) 227-11505970 Bridge Rd, Ypsilanti · Google · Apple

Mac's Marina≈10.6 mi · (734) 449-47069876 Main St, Whitmore Lake · Google · Apple

Sandy's Marina≈11.6 mi4182 Edison Lake Rd, Belleville · 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

Murray Lake — common questions

How deep is Murray Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Murray 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 Murray Lake?

Murray Lake covers about 18 acres in Washtenaw County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Murray Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Murray Lake is 16.4 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Murray Lake?

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

Is there public access to Murray Lake?

No public launch for Murray 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 Washtenaw County