Turtle Lake

Benzie County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey

20ft Max
depth

45 acres 4 contours Public access

Paddling Index71Goodsheltered geometry · wooded shoreline

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Depth scale

05101520

The lake

Survey readout

Turtle Lake is mapped to a depth of 20 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 45 acres in Benzie County, Michigan.

Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey (depths read from the survey's isobath field; this lake's summary-depth column is blank in the source).

Deepest mapped contour: 20 ft
Mean depth: 7.6 ft · estimated
Surface area: 45 acres
Estimated volume: 343 acre-ft · 112M gal
Shoreline: 1.6 mi · irregular
Aquatic vegetation: 4% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: Boat Launch

Additional depth details4 contours

Contour depths: 0–20 ft
Recorded point soundings: 20 ft

66.3% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft; 3.7% 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 Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.

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Location

Benzie County, Michigan · all 15 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.

⚠ 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: 44.61649, -85.90574
MI DNR lake ID: L39663
Vertical exaggeration: 3.0×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.3 MB

Paddling

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

71 / 100GoodData confidence: High

Turtle Lake has a mostly natural, lightly developed setting, generally sheltered geometry, some nearby classified 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	20.7 of 30	75% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (62% forest, 3% wetland; 20% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Very Good	20.6 of 25	mean fetch 636 m · 16% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · generally short fetch
Watercraft controls	None identified	7.5 of 15	No special watercraft restriction identified in the current DNR source. Motors permitted, subject to general law.
Public access	Good	12.8 of 15	1 site with DNR boating-facility records · 1 ramp lane · 6 trailer spaces
Road isolation	Good	9.2 of 15	some nearby classified roads · 13 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 1,328 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: Low — approximately 4% 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 — 62% forest and 3% 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 Boating Access Sites (2026-08), 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

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).

Rock Bass

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.

Rock BassOpen 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 summarises 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 2026-08-24. Regulations can change — Michigan DNR rules are the controlling source; verify current regulations before fishing. Official regulations

Compiled from registered Master Angler catches. 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 · 2005–2007

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

Rock Bass13″ · 2007 · trolling

Rock Bass12.5″ · 2005 · still fishing · worm

Rock Bass11.2″ · 2005 · still fishing · leach

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.

At the lake

community-mapped amenities · straight-line distance

🚿 Restrooms / vault toileton the lake · 3 mapped

🏖 Beach / swim areaon the lake · 3 mapped

🎢 Playground≈0.1 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

Cherryland Grocery Inc≈5.2 mi19114 US-31, Interlochen · Google · Apple

Buc's Aqua Farm & Wholesale Bait≈6.9 mi10035 US - 31, Interlochen · Google · Apple

Backcast Fly Shop/Benzie Pets≈9.5 mi1675 Benzie Hwy, Benzonia · 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

Turtle Lake — common questions

How deep is Turtle Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Turtle Lake is 20 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 Turtle Lake?

Turtle Lake covers about 45 acres in Benzie County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Turtle Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Turtle Lake is 7.6 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Turtle Lake?

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

Is there public access to Turtle Lake?

Yes. The Michigan DNR boat-launch data identifies 1 public access site on Turtle Lake, including Turtle Lake.