How deep is Douglas Lake?

Douglas Lake is more than 80 feet deep. The deepest contour in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey is the 80 foot line, and the lake continues deeper inside it.

Where is the deepest part of Douglas Lake?

The deepest charted water on Douglas Lake lies inside the 80 ft contour, toward the western side of the lake. That contour encloses 22 acres, 1.7% 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 Douglas Lake is shallower than 40 feet?

About half. The 40 ft contour encloses 384 acres of the roughly 1,292 acres inside the outer 5 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 443 acres.

How accurate is this Douglas 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

Douglas Lake depth map

Douglas Lake in Cheboygan County, Michigan reaches a depth of more than 80 feet at its deepest surveyed contour. Douglas Lake is charted here across 8 closed depth contours, from the 5 ft line down to 80 ft, enclosing about 1,292 acres of water. Half of that water lies inside the 40 ft line, and only 22 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

Douglas Lake depth chart: 8 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

Douglas Lake depth chart data: water enclosed by each contour
Depth contour	Water inside it	Share of mapped water
5 ft	1,292 acres	100%
20 ft	1,145 acres	89%
30 ft	827 acres	64%
40 ft	384 acres	30%
50 ft	319 acres	25%
60 ft	212 acres	16%
70 ft	99 acres	7.7%
80 ft	22 acres	1.7%

Acreages are computed from the closed Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours contour rings, with islands subtracted. Shares are of the 1,292 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 Douglas Lake: a stepped drop into deep water

Inside its outermost 5 ft contour the survey charts about 1,292 acres of Douglas Lake, with the 40 ft line enclosing half of it, so the bottom steps down contour by contour into the deep basin rather than shelving flat or plunging all at once. The sharpest change on the chart is between 30 and 40 ft, where the mapped water loses 443 acres in 10 ft of depth, that band is the contour to work first, because it is where the bottom stops being flat. 22 acres, 1.7% of the mapped water, lie inside the deepest 80 ft contour, toward the western side of the lake. At 80 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 30–40 ft break at first and last light.

Ice fishing on Douglas Lake

Deep water like Douglas 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 30–40 ft band on the chart above, where 443 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.

Douglas Lake depth map FAQs

How deep is Douglas Lake?: Douglas Lake is more than 80 feet deep. The deepest contour in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey is the 80 foot line, and the lake continues deeper inside it.
Where is the deepest part of Douglas Lake?: The deepest charted water on Douglas Lake lies inside the 80 ft contour, toward the western side of the lake. That contour encloses 22 acres, 1.7% 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 Douglas Lake is shallower than 40 feet?: About half. The 40 ft contour encloses 384 acres of the roughly 1,292 acres inside the outer 5 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 443 acres.
How accurate is this Douglas 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 Douglas Lake

Burt Lake depth map · 73 ft max · 8 mi away
Mullett Lake depth map · 120 ft max · 9 mi away
Long Lake depth map · 61 ft max · 14 mi away
Twin Lakes depth map · 73+ ft max · 19 mi away
Black Lake depth map · 50 ft max · 22 mi away

Mapped fishing venues near Douglas Lake

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

Burt Lake · 8 mi away
Mullett Lake · 9 mi away
Long Lake · 14 mi away

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