How deep is Cedar Lake?

Cedar Lake reaches a maximum depth of 84 feet in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey. Most of it is far shallower: the survey charts 9 closed depth contours over about 254 acres, and half of that water sits inside the 40 ft line. The 84 ft figure is a single recorded sounding rather than a closed contour, so the deepest line you can actually trace on the map is 80 ft.

Where is the deepest part of Cedar Lake?

The deepest charted water on Cedar Lake lies inside the 80 ft contour, toward the eastern side of the lake. That contour encloses 5.7 acres, 2.3% of the mapped water, so it is a small target on a small water, the depth chart above gives the contour to line up on.

How much of Cedar Lake is shallower than 40 feet?

About half. The 40 ft contour encloses 97 acres of the roughly 254 acres inside the outer 5 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 40 feet. The sharpest drop is between 5 and 10 feet, where the mapped water sheds 84 acres.

How accurate is this Cedar Lake depth map?

The contours come from the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey, retrieved August 2026 and last rebuilt on August 19, 2026. Depths change over time with water levels and sediment, so treat this map as a planning guide for fishing, and never use it for navigation. Acreages are computed from the published contour geometry, not from a separate area survey, so read them as close approximations.

Michigan lake depth maps

Cedar Lake depth map

Cedar Lake in Van Buren County, Michigan reaches a depth of 84 feet. Cedar Lake is charted here across 9 closed depth contours, from the 5 ft line down to 80 ft, enclosing about 254 acres of water. Half of that water lies inside the 40 ft line, and only 5.7 acres lie inside the deepest one. Every contour is on the interactive map below, free and without an account.

Data: Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours (public record). Contours closed, checked and area-computed by Jordan Carter, founder of GilledIt · page updated August 19, 2026

Cedar Lake depth chart: 9 depth contours from 5 to 80 ft

Data: Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours (public record), retrieved August 2026 · depths change over time · not for navigation

Cedar Lake depth chart data: water enclosed by each contour
Depth contour	Water inside it	Share of mapped water
5 ft	254 acres	100%
10 ft	170 acres	67%
20 ft	147 acres	58%
30 ft	128 acres	50%
40 ft	97 acres	38%
50 ft	64 acres	25%
60 ft	32 acres	13%
70 ft	21 acres	8.1%
80 ft	5.7 acres	2.3%

Acreages are computed from the closed Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours contour rings, with islands subtracted. Shares are of the 254 acres inside the outermost charted contour (the 5 ft line), which is the outer edge of the mapped water, several state files carry no 0 ft shoreline line, so this is not the same as a share of the lake's published surface area. The survey also records a 84 ft sounding, marked as a point rather than a closed contour, so it is not charted as a band.

Fishing Cedar Lake: a stepped drop into deep water

The survey encloses about 254 acres of Cedar Lake inside its 5 ft contour, and half of that water lies inside the 40 ft line, so the bottom steps down contour by contour into the deep basin rather than shelving flat or plunging all at once. Between 5 and 10 ft the mapped water sheds 84 acres in 5 ft of depth, the sharpest change on the chart, start on that band, because it is where the bottom stops being flat. 5.7 acres, 2.3% of the mapped water, lie inside the deepest 80 ft contour, toward the eastern side of the lake. At 84 ft this is two-story water: the basin can stay cold below the summer thermocline while warm-water fish stay up on the 5-to-40 ft ground, and the fish that move between the two do it along the 5–10 ft break at first and last light.

Ice fishing on Cedar Lake

Deep water like Cedar Lake freezes later and less evenly than the shallow lakes around it, and the winter bite sets up on the first real break, not out over the 80 ft hole. That edge is the 5–10 ft band on the chart above, where 84 acres of bottom tilt away, and panfish and walleye work up and down it through the day. By late ice the fish push back onto the 5-to-40 ft flat. Check ice thickness locally before you walk out.

Cedar Lake depth map FAQs

How deep is Cedar Lake?: Cedar Lake reaches a maximum depth of 84 feet in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey. Most of it is far shallower: the survey charts 9 closed depth contours over about 254 acres, and half of that water sits inside the 40 ft line. The 84 ft figure is a single recorded sounding rather than a closed contour, so the deepest line you can actually trace on the map is 80 ft.
Where is the deepest part of Cedar Lake?: The deepest charted water on Cedar Lake lies inside the 80 ft contour, toward the eastern side of the lake. That contour encloses 5.7 acres, 2.3% of the mapped water, so it is a small target on a small water, the depth chart above gives the contour to line up on.
How much of Cedar Lake is shallower than 40 feet?: About half. The 40 ft contour encloses 97 acres of the roughly 254 acres inside the outer 5 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 40 feet. The sharpest drop is between 5 and 10 feet, where the mapped water sheds 84 acres.
How accurate is this Cedar Lake depth map?: The contours come from the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey, retrieved August 2026 and last rebuilt on August 19, 2026. Depths change over time with water levels and sediment, so treat this map as a planning guide for fishing, and never use it for navigation. Acreages are computed from the published contour geometry, not from a separate area survey, so read them as close approximations.

Depth maps for lakes near Cedar Lake

Hemlock Lake depth map · 70+ ft max · 2 mi away
Eagle Lake depth map · 60+ ft max · 9 mi away
Christie Lake depth map · 48+ ft max · 11 mi away
Corey Lake depth map · 70+ ft max · 12 mi away
Donnell Lake depth map · 60+ ft max · 13 mi away

Mapped fishing venues near Cedar Lake

Cedar Lake in the venue directory covers access and fishing details for this water.

Hemlock Lake · 2 mi away
Eagle Lake · 9 mi away
Christie Lake · 11 mi away

Fishing in Michigan needs a state license: Michigan fishing license guide · all Michigan venues