How deep is Donnell Lake?

Donnell Lake is more than 60 feet deep. The deepest contour in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey is the 60 foot line, and the lake continues deeper inside it.

Where is the deepest part of Donnell Lake?

The deepest charted water on Donnell Lake lies inside the 60 ft contour, toward the northeastern corner of the lake. That contour encloses 12 acres, 6.3% 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 Donnell Lake is shallower than 40 feet?

About half. The 40 ft contour encloses 71 acres of the roughly 193 acres inside the outer 10 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 40 feet. The sharpest drop is between 30 and 40 feet, where the mapped water sheds 57 acres.

How accurate is this Donnell 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

Donnell Lake depth map

Donnell Lake in Cass County, Michigan reaches a depth of more than 60 feet at its deepest surveyed contour. Donnell Lake is charted here across 6 closed depth contours, from the 10 ft line down to 60 ft, enclosing about 193 acres of water. Half of that water lies inside the 40 ft line, and only 12 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

Donnell Lake depth chart: 6 depth contours from 10 to 60 ft

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

Donnell Lake depth chart data: water enclosed by each contour
Depth contour	Water inside it	Share of mapped water
10 ft	193 acres	100%
20 ft	172 acres	89%
30 ft	128 acres	66%
40 ft	71 acres	37%
50 ft	30 acres	16%
60 ft	12 acres	6.3%

Acreages are computed from the closed Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours contour rings, with islands subtracted. Shares are of the 193 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 Donnell Lake: steep walls and a big basin

The survey encloses about 193 acres of Donnell Lake inside its 10 ft contour, and half of that water lies inside the 40 ft line, so depth comes quickly here, with no long shallow margin before the bottom drops away. Between 30 and 40 ft the mapped water sheds 57 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. The deepest 60 ft contour holds 12 acres, 6.3% of the mapped water, toward the northeastern corner of the lake. 60 ft of water makes this a two-story fishery: warm-water fish hold the 10-to-40 ft ground while the basin can stay cold below the summer thermocline, and the traffic between the two runs along the 30–40 ft break at first and last light.

Ice fishing on Donnell Lake

Donnell 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 60 ft hole. The 30–40 ft band on the chart above is that edge: 57 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 10-to-40 ft flat. Check ice thickness locally before you walk out.

Donnell Lake depth map FAQs

How deep is Donnell Lake?: Donnell Lake is more than 60 feet deep. The deepest contour in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey is the 60 foot line, and the lake continues deeper inside it.
Where is the deepest part of Donnell Lake?: The deepest charted water on Donnell Lake lies inside the 60 ft contour, toward the northeastern corner of the lake. That contour encloses 12 acres, 6.3% 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 Donnell Lake is shallower than 40 feet?: About half. The 40 ft contour encloses 71 acres of the roughly 193 acres inside the outer 10 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 40 feet. The sharpest drop is between 30 and 40 feet, where the mapped water sheds 57 acres.
How accurate is this Donnell 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 Donnell Lake

Birch Lake depth map · 80+ ft max · 3 mi away
Diamond Lake depth map · 64 ft max · 4 mi away
Shavehead Lake depth map · 70+ ft max · 5 mi away
Corey Lake depth map · 70+ ft max · 8 mi away
Baldwins Lake depth map · 55+ ft max · 10 mi away

Mapped fishing venues near Donnell Lake

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

Birch Lake · 3 mi away
Diamond Lake · 4 mi away
Shavehead Lake · 5 mi away

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