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Skyline Lake

Iron County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey
26ft Max
depth
10 acres 5 contours
Paddling Index92ExcellentMedium confidenceaway from major roads · motorboats prohibited · sheltered geometry
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Depth scale

The lake

Survey readout

Skyline Lake is mapped to a depth of 26 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 10 acres in Iron County, Michigan.

Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.

Deepest sounding
26 ft
Mean depth
11.9 ft · estimated
Surface area
10 acres
Estimated volume
125 acre-ft · 41M gal
Shoreline
0.7 mi · lobed
Aquatic vegetation
12% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access
No public DNR launch identified
Additional depth details5 contours
Contour depths
0–26 ft
Recorded point soundings
26 ft, 20 ft

31.9% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 4.1% is deeper than 20 ft; the survey shows 2 distinct basins. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.

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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
46.35615, -88.94853
MI DNR lake ID
L39082
Vertical exaggeration
2.8×
Basemap
USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size
0.8 MB

Watercraft rules

county-enforced local controls · MI DNR
Motorboats prohibitedwhole lake, as mapped
Official rule details1 rule
Motorboats prohibited“Motorboats prohibited”
Where the mapped control areas and the official regulation language differ, the language governs. Official county watercraft controls.

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21
92 / 100ExcellentData confidence: Medium

Skyline Lake has a heavily wooded and largely undeveloped setting, well sheltered geometry, little nearby major-road exposure. Watercraft controls: Motorboats prohibited.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

ComponentRatingPoints of weightMeasurement
Natural settingExcellent29.2 of 3584% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (63% forest, 20% wetland; 10% developed)
Geometric wind exposureExcellent29.4 of 29mean fetch 240 m · 100% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · short fetch in most directions
Watercraft controlsMotorboats prohibited17.6 of 18Motorboats prohibited
Public accessNot listedNo 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 isolationExcellent15.3 of 18relatively isolated from major roads · 3 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 117 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
High — narrow throughout — passing wakes would reach most of the water
Aquatic vegetation
Low — approximately 12% 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
High — 63% forest and 20% wetland cover within 150 m of shore
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

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

Brook Trout

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.

Brook TroutOpen to harvestMinimum size: 10" · Daily limit: 5 (FO-254 · Type A) 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 A trout lake — season last Saturday in April - October 31; tackle: natural baits except minnows (dead or alive) and artificial lures may be used.
Brook TroutOpen to harvestMinimum size: 10" · Daily limit: 5 (FO-254 · Type A) Five (5) trout, except that the daily possession limit shall not include more than three (3) trout 15 inches or greater.

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 · 1995–2001

Master Angler catches recorded on this lake — too few to show a pattern, so they are listed individually.

Brook Trout23.5″ · 1998 · spincasting
Brook Trout20″ · 2001 · fly fishing
Brook Trout19.5″ · 1995 · spincasting · panther martin spinner
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 · 1980–2025

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

Brook trout43,250 stocked · 1980–2025 · 45 plantings

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.

Quick answers

Skyline Lake — common questions

How deep is Skyline Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Skyline Lake is 26 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 Skyline Lake?

Skyline Lake covers about 10 acres in Iron County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Skyline Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Skyline Lake is 11.9 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Skyline Lake?

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

Is there public access to Skyline Lake?

No public launch for Skyline 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.