How deep is Coldwater Lake?

Coldwater Lake is more than 90 feet deep. The deepest contour in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey is the 90 foot line, and the lake continues deeper inside it.

Where is the deepest part of Coldwater Lake?

The deepest charted water on Coldwater Lake lies inside the 90 ft contour, toward the northeastern corner of the lake. That contour encloses 5.6 acres, under 1% of the mapped water, so it is a small target on a big lake, the depth chart above gives the contour to line up on.

How much of Coldwater Lake is shallower than 40 feet?

About half. The 40 ft contour encloses 324 acres of the roughly 785 acres inside the outer 10 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 40 feet. The sharpest drop is between 20 and 30 feet, where the mapped water sheds 167 acres.

How accurate is this Coldwater 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

Coldwater Lake depth map

Coldwater Lake in Branch County, Michigan reaches a depth of more than 90 feet at its deepest surveyed contour. Coldwater Lake is charted here across 9 closed depth contours, from the 10 ft line down to 90 ft, enclosing about 785 acres of water. Half of that water lies inside the 40 ft line, and only 5.6 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

Coldwater Lake depth chart: 9 depth contours from 10 to 90 ft

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

Coldwater Lake depth chart data: water enclosed by each contour
Depth contour	Water inside it	Share of mapped water
10 ft	785 acres	100%
20 ft	652 acres	83%
30 ft	485 acres	62%
40 ft	324 acres	41%
50 ft	187 acres	24%
60 ft	109 acres	14%
70 ft	46 acres	5.8%
80 ft	23 acres	2.9%
90 ft	5.6 acres	under 1%

Acreages are computed from the closed Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours contour rings, with islands subtracted. Shares are of the 785 acres inside the outermost charted contour (the 10 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.

Fishing Coldwater Lake: a stepped drop into deep water

The survey encloses about 785 acres of Coldwater Lake inside its 10 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 20 and 30 ft the mapped water sheds 167 acres in 10 ft of depth, the sharpest change on the chart, start on that band, because it is where the bottom stops being flat. 5.6 acres, under 1% of the mapped water, lie inside the deepest 90 ft contour, toward the northeastern corner of the lake. At 90 ft this is two-story water: the basin can stay cold below the summer thermocline while warm-water fish stay up on the 10-to-40 ft ground, and the fish that move between the two do it along the 20–30 ft break at first and last light.

Ice fishing on Coldwater Lake

Deep water like Coldwater 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 90 ft hole. That edge is the 20–30 ft band on the chart above, where 167 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 10-to-40 ft flat. Check ice thickness locally before you walk out.

Coldwater Lake depth map FAQs

How deep is Coldwater Lake?: Coldwater Lake is more than 90 feet deep. The deepest contour in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey is the 90 foot line, and the lake continues deeper inside it.
Where is the deepest part of Coldwater Lake?: The deepest charted water on Coldwater Lake lies inside the 90 ft contour, toward the northeastern corner of the lake. That contour encloses 5.6 acres, under 1% of the mapped water, so it is a small target on a big lake, the depth chart above gives the contour to line up on.
How much of Coldwater Lake is shallower than 40 feet?: About half. The 40 ft contour encloses 324 acres of the roughly 785 acres inside the outer 10 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 40 feet. The sharpest drop is between 20 and 30 feet, where the mapped water sheds 167 acres.
How accurate is this Coldwater 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 Coldwater Lake

Long Lake depth map · 45+ ft max · 2 mi away
Lake of the Woods depth map · 70+ ft max · 4 mi away
George Lake depth map · 82 ft max · 5 mi away
Marble Lake depth map · 60+ ft max · 7 mi away
Hemlock Lake depth map · 60+ ft max · 11 mi away

Mapped fishing venues near Coldwater Lake

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

Long Lake · 2 mi away
Lake of the Woods · 4 mi away
George Lake · 5 mi away

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