How deep is Coldwater Lake?

Coldwater Lake is more than 65 feet deep. The deepest contour in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey is the 65 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 65 ft contour, toward the southeastern corner of the lake. That contour encloses under an acre, under 1% 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 Coldwater Lake is shallower than 40 feet?

About half. The 40 ft contour encloses 132 acres of the roughly 286 acres inside the outer 5 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 40 feet. The sharpest drop is between 45 and 50 feet, where the mapped water sheds 59 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 Isabella County, Michigan reaches a depth of more than 65 feet at its deepest surveyed contour. Coldwater Lake is charted here across 10 closed depth contours, from the 5 ft line down to 65 ft, enclosing about 286 acres of water. Half of that water lies inside the 40 ft line, and only under an acre 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: 10 depth contours from 5 to 65 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
5 ft	286 acres	100%
10 ft	237 acres	83%
20 ft	206 acres	72%
30 ft	170 acres	59%
40 ft	132 acres	46%
45 ft	104 acres	36%
50 ft	45 acres	16%
55 ft	34 acres	12%
60 ft	12 acres	4.3%
65 ft	under 1 acre	under 1%

Acreages are computed from the closed Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours contour rings, with islands subtracted. Shares are of the 286 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.

Fishing Coldwater Lake: steep walls and a big basin

About 286 acres of Coldwater Lake sit inside the survey's 5 ft contour, and half of that water is already gone by the 40 ft line: depth comes quickly here, with no long shallow margin before the bottom drops away. The steepest break on the chart runs from 45 down to 50 ft: 59 acres of bottom fall away across 5 ft there, which makes that band the first contour to work. Inside the 65 ft contour there is under an acre of water, toward the southeastern corner of the lake: a single pocket rather than a basin, and worth a drift over in high summer. 65 ft of water makes this a two-story fishery: warm-water fish hold the 5-to-40 ft ground while the basin can stay cold below the summer thermocline, and the traffic between the two runs along the 45–50 ft break at first and last light.

Ice fishing on Coldwater Lake

Coldwater Lake freezes later and less evenly than the shallow waters around it, and the winter bite sets up on the first real break rather than out over the 65 ft hole. The 45–50 ft band on the chart above is that edge: 59 acres of bottom tilt away there, and panfish and walleye slide up and down it through the day. Late ice pushes fish back onto the 5-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 65 feet deep. The deepest contour in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey is the 65 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 65 ft contour, toward the southeastern corner of the lake. That contour encloses under an acre, under 1% 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 Coldwater Lake is shallower than 40 feet?: About half. The 40 ft contour encloses 132 acres of the roughly 286 acres inside the outer 5 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 40 feet. The sharpest drop is between 45 and 50 feet, where the mapped water sheds 59 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

Littlefield Lake depth map · 60+ ft max · 8 mi away
Boyles Creek depth map · 70+ ft max · 13 mi away
Horsehead Lake depth map · 54+ ft max · 15 mi away
Five Lakes depth map · 60+ ft max · 17 mi away
Silver Lake depth map · 52+ ft max · 18 mi away

Mapped fishing venues near Coldwater Lake

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

Lost Lake · 7 mi away
Outlet Lake · 7 mi away
Bass Lake · 7 mi away

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