Rainbow Lake
depth
Get directions
Depth scale
Survey readout
Rainbow Lake is mapped to a depth of 25 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 45 acres in Lake County, Michigan.
Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.
- Deepest mapped contour
- 25 ft
- Mean depth
- 10.7 ft · estimated
- Surface area
- 45 acres
- Estimated volume
- 477 acre-ft · 155M gal
- Shoreline
- 1.1 mi · round
- Aquatic vegetation
- 22% of surface · NDVI estimate
- Public access
- No public DNR launch identified
Additional depth details5 contours
- Contour depths
- 0–25 ft
- Recorded point soundings
- 25 ft
52.1% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 22.6% is deeper than 20 ft. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.
Compare with another lakeProvenance
Sources: MI DNR inland lake contours, USGS 3DEP, USDA NAIP (public domain), OpenStreetMap (ODbL), MI DNR Boat Launches.
⚠ Not for navigationSpot an error? Send a correction
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
- 43.85346, -85.97521
- MI DNR lake ID
- L48473
- Vertical exaggeration
- 2.83×
- Basemap
- USDA NAIP · public domain
- Model size
- 2.0 MB
Paddling
Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21Rainbow Lake has a mixed natural and developed setting, well sheltered geometry, limited 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 | Mixed | 13.2 of 35 | 48% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (26% forest, 22% wetland; 37% developed) |
| Geometric wind exposure | Excellent | 29.4 of 29 | mean fetch 401 m · 91% 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 | Very Good | 12.6 of 18 | limited nearby major-road exposure · 39 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 523 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
- Moderate — approximately 22% 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 — 26% forest and 22% wetland cover within 150 m of shore
Compare Michigan lakes by Paddling Index →
Fish you might catch
from angler catches & active stocking5 species with recent evidence in this lake — sized relative to each other. Illustrations are AI-generated representative adults in everyday colours, not photographs (provenance).
Largemouth Bass
Yellow Perchstocked
Bluegill
Hybrid SunfishstockedFishing rules for this lake Beta
Size and daily limits for the 5 species found here — 5 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.
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
Notable catches
Master Angler program · 1996–2008Master Angler catches recorded on this lake — too few to show a pattern, so they are listed individually.
DNR stocking
state stocking record · 2017–2017Fish the Michigan DNR has planted in this lake — what was added, distinct from what a survey netted above.
Bait & tackle nearby
licensed retail bait dealers · straight-line distanceRainbow Lake — common questions
How deep is Rainbow Lake?
The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Rainbow Lake is 25 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 Rainbow Lake?
Rainbow Lake covers about 45 acres in Lake County, Michigan.
What is the average depth of Rainbow Lake?
The estimated mean depth of Rainbow Lake is 10.7 ft, calculated from the survey contours.
What fish are in Rainbow Lake?
Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include largemouth bass, bluegill, hybrid sunfish, yellow perch, fathead minnow. The page shows the evidence behind each.
Is there public access to Rainbow Lake?
No public launch for Rainbow 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.
