How deep is Elk Lake?

Elk Lake is more than 150 feet deep. The deepest contour in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey is the 150 foot line, and the lake continues deeper inside it.

Where is the deepest part of Elk Lake?

The deepest charted water on Elk Lake lies inside the 150 ft contour, toward the middle of the lake. That contour encloses 1,212 acres, 16% of the mapped water, so it is a broad slice of the bottom rather than a pinpoint target, the depth chart above gives the contour to line up on.

How much of Elk Lake is shallower than 100 feet?

About half. The 100 ft contour encloses 2,518 acres of the roughly 7,682 acres inside the outer 5 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 100 feet. The sharpest drop is between 5 and 10 feet, where the mapped water sheds 1,435 acres.

How accurate is this Elk 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

Elk Lake depth map

Elk Lake in Antrim County, Michigan reaches a depth of more than 150 feet at its deepest surveyed contour. Elk Lake is charted here across 6 closed depth contours, from the 5 ft line down to 150 ft, enclosing about 7,682 acres of water. Half of that water lies inside the 100 ft line, and only 1,212 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

Elk Lake depth chart: 6 depth contours from 5 to 150 ft

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

Elk Lake depth chart data: water enclosed by each contour
Depth contour	Water inside it	Share of mapped water
5 ft	7,682 acres	100%
10 ft	6,247 acres	81%
30 ft	4,794 acres	62%
50 ft	3,917 acres	51%
100 ft	2,518 acres	33%
150 ft	1,212 acres	16%

Acreages are computed from the closed Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours contour rings, with islands subtracted. Shares are of the 7,682 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 Elk Lake: steep walls and a big basin

Inside its outermost 5 ft contour the survey charts about 7,682 acres of Elk Lake, with the 100 ft line enclosing half of it, so the bottom holds its depth well out from the bank rather than tapering off a long shallow margin. The sharpest change on the chart is between 5 and 10 ft, where the mapped water loses 1,435 acres in 5 ft of depth, that band is the contour to work first, because it is where the bottom stops being flat. 1,212 acres, 16% of the mapped water, lie inside the deepest 150 ft contour, toward the middle of the lake. At 150 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-100 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 Elk Lake

Deep water like Elk 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 150 ft hole. That edge is the 5–10 ft band on the chart above, where 1,435 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-100 ft flat. Check ice thickness locally before you walk out.

Elk Lake depth map FAQs

How deep is Elk Lake?: Elk Lake is more than 150 feet deep. The deepest contour in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey is the 150 foot line, and the lake continues deeper inside it.
Where is the deepest part of Elk Lake?: The deepest charted water on Elk Lake lies inside the 150 ft contour, toward the middle of the lake. That contour encloses 1,212 acres, 16% of the mapped water, so it is a broad slice of the bottom rather than a pinpoint target, the depth chart above gives the contour to line up on.
How much of Elk Lake is shallower than 100 feet?: About half. The 100 ft contour encloses 2,518 acres of the roughly 7,682 acres inside the outer 5 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 100 feet. The sharpest drop is between 5 and 10 feet, where the mapped water sheds 1,435 acres.
How accurate is this Elk 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 Elk Lake

Torch Lake depth map · 250+ ft max · 9 mi away
Lake Bellaire depth map · 95+ ft max · 10 mi away
Green Lake depth map · 57 ft max · 12 mi away
Boardman Lake depth map · 73+ ft max · 14 mi away
Lake Leelanau depth map · 62 ft max · 17 mi away

Mapped fishing venues near Elk Lake

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

Torch Lake · 9 mi away
Lake Bellaire · 10 mi away
Green Lake · 12 mi away

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