How deep is Lac Vieux Desert?

Lac Vieux Desert is more than 38 feet deep. The deepest contour in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey is the 38 foot line, and the lake continues deeper inside it.

Where is the deepest part of Lac Vieux Desert?

The deepest charted water on Lac Vieux Desert lies inside the 16 ft contour, toward the southern end 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 Lac Vieux Desert is shallower than 8 feet?

About half. The 8 ft contour encloses 0.2 acres of the roughly 43 acres inside the outer 0 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 8 feet. The sharpest drop is between 0 and 8 feet, where the mapped water sheds 43 acres.

How accurate is this Lac Vieux Desert 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

Lac Vieux Desert depth map

Lac Vieux Desert in Michigan reaches a depth of more than 38 feet at its deepest surveyed contour. Lac Vieux Desert is charted here across 4 closed depth contours, from the 0 ft line down to 16 ft, enclosing about 43 acres of water. Half of that water lies inside the 8 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

Lac Vieux Desert depth chart: 4 depth contours from 0 to 16 ft

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

Lac Vieux Desert depth chart data: water enclosed by each contour
Depth contour	Water inside it	Share of mapped water
0 ft	43 acres	100%
8 ft	under 1 acre	under 1%
9 ft	under 1 acre	under 1%
16 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 43 acres inside the outermost charted contour (the 0 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. The survey also records a 23 ft sounding, marked as a point rather than a closed contour, so it is not charted as a band.

Fishing Lac Vieux Desert: an evenly graded bottom

About 43 acres of Lac Vieux Desert sit inside the survey's 0 ft contour, and half of that water is already gone by the 8 ft line: the bottom loses depth gradually and evenly, with no broad shelf and no single abrupt drop. The steepest break on the chart runs from 0 down to 8 ft: 43 acres of bottom fall away across 8 ft there, which makes that band the first contour to work. Inside the 16 ft contour there is under an acre of water, toward the southern end of the lake: a single pocket rather than a basin, and worth a drift over in high summer. Nothing here reaches a true cold-water layer at 38 ft, so structure does the thermocline's work: the points and inside turns where the 0 and 8 ft lines pinch together fish hardest in early season, and again as fish follow bait back down in autumn.

Ice fishing on Lac Vieux Desert

At 38 ft, Lac Vieux Desert is a workable ice depth: deep enough to hold fish all winter without the slow freeze-up of a big basin. Start on the 16 ft hole, 0.1 acres of it, at first light, then move up onto the 0–8 ft break as the sun gets up, and fish the flats inside the 8 ft line through the middle of the day. Check ice thickness locally before you walk out.

Lac Vieux Desert depth map FAQs

How deep is Lac Vieux Desert?: Lac Vieux Desert is more than 38 feet deep. The deepest contour in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey is the 38 foot line, and the lake continues deeper inside it.
Where is the deepest part of Lac Vieux Desert?: The deepest charted water on Lac Vieux Desert lies inside the 16 ft contour, toward the southern end 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 Lac Vieux Desert is shallower than 8 feet?: About half. The 8 ft contour encloses 0.2 acres of the roughly 43 acres inside the outer 0 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 8 feet. The sharpest drop is between 0 and 8 feet, where the mapped water sheds 43 acres.
How accurate is this Lac Vieux Desert 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 Lac Vieux Desert

Wilson Lake depth map · 60 ft max · 5 mi away
Schneider Lake depth map · 60 ft max · 8 mi away
Little Duck Lake depth map · 69 ft max · 8 mi away
Smoky Lake depth map · 60+ ft max · 8 mi away
High Lake depth map · 90 ft max · 11 mi away

Mapped fishing venues near Lac Vieux Desert

Lac Vieux Desert in the venue directory covers access and fishing details for this water.

Wilson Lake · 5 mi away
Schneider Lake · 8 mi away
Little Duck Lake · 8 mi away

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