How deep is Lake of the Woods?

Lake of the Woods is more than 70 feet deep. The deepest contour in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey is the 70 foot line, and the lake continues deeper inside it.

Where is the deepest part of Lake of the Woods?

The deepest charted water on Lake of the Woods lies inside the 70 ft contour, toward the northern end of the lake. That contour encloses 3.6 acres, 1.6% 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 Lake of the Woods is shallower than 40 feet?

About half. The 40 ft contour encloses 78 acres of the roughly 217 acres inside the outer 10 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 40 feet. The sharpest drop is between 20 and 30 feet, where the mapped water sheds 62 acres.

How accurate is this Lake of the Woods 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

Lake of the Woods depth map

Lake of the Woods in Branch County, Michigan reaches a depth of more than 70 feet at its deepest surveyed contour. Lake of the Woods is charted here across 7 closed depth contours, from the 10 ft line down to 70 ft, enclosing about 217 acres of water. Half of that water lies inside the 40 ft line, and only 3.6 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

Lake of the Woods depth chart: 7 depth contours from 10 to 70 ft

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

Lake of the Woods depth chart data: water enclosed by each contour
Depth contour	Water inside it	Share of mapped water
10 ft	217 acres	100%
20 ft	188 acres	87%
30 ft	126 acres	58%
40 ft	78 acres	36%
50 ft	47 acres	22%
60 ft	22 acres	10%
70 ft	3.6 acres	1.6%

Acreages are computed from the closed Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours contour rings, with islands subtracted. Shares are of the 217 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 Lake of the Woods: a stepped drop into deep water

About 217 acres of Lake of the Woods sit inside the survey's 10 ft contour, and half of that water is already gone by the 40 ft line: the drop to the deep basin comes in stages, each contour giving up another slice of water, rather than in one abrupt wall. The steepest break on the chart runs from 20 down to 30 ft: 62 acres of bottom fall away across 10 ft there, which makes that band the first contour to work. The deepest 70 ft contour holds 3.6 acres, 1.6% of the mapped water, toward the northern end of the lake. 70 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 20–30 ft break at first and last light.

Ice fishing on Lake of the Woods

Lake of the Woods 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 70 ft hole. The 20–30 ft band on the chart above is that edge: 62 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.

Lake of the Woods depth map FAQs

How deep is Lake of the Woods?: Lake of the Woods is more than 70 feet deep. The deepest contour in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey is the 70 foot line, and the lake continues deeper inside it.
Where is the deepest part of Lake of the Woods?: The deepest charted water on Lake of the Woods lies inside the 70 ft contour, toward the northern end of the lake. That contour encloses 3.6 acres, 1.6% 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 Lake of the Woods is shallower than 40 feet?: About half. The 40 ft contour encloses 78 acres of the roughly 217 acres inside the outer 10 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 40 feet. The sharpest drop is between 20 and 30 feet, where the mapped water sheds 62 acres.
How accurate is this Lake of the Woods 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 Lake of the Woods

Coldwater Lake depth map · 90+ ft max · 4 mi away
Long Lake depth map · 45+ ft max · 4 mi away
George Lake depth map · 82 ft max · 6 mi away
Marble Lake depth map · 60+ ft max · 8 mi away
Hemlock Lake depth map · 60+ ft max · 13 mi away

Mapped fishing venues near Lake of the Woods

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

Coldwater Lake · 4 mi away
Long Lake · 4 mi away
George Lake · 6 mi away

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