How deep is Torch Lake?

Torch Lake is more than 250 feet deep. The deepest contour in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey is the 250 foot line, and the lake continues deeper inside it.

Where is the deepest part of Torch Lake?

The deepest charted water on Torch Lake lies inside the 250 ft contour, toward the middle of the lake. That contour encloses 3,574 acres, 19% 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 Torch Lake is shallower than 200 feet?

About half. The 200 ft contour encloses 7,476 acres of the roughly 18,984 acres inside the outer 5 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 200 feet. The sharpest drop is between 5 and 50 feet, where the mapped water sheds 5,895 acres.

How accurate is this Torch 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

Torch Lake depth map

Torch Lake in Antrim County, Michigan reaches a depth of more than 250 feet at its deepest surveyed contour. Torch Lake is charted here across 5 closed depth contours, from the 5 ft line down to 250 ft, enclosing about 18,984 acres of water. Half of that water lies inside the 200 ft line, and only 3,574 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

Torch Lake depth chart: 5 depth contours from 5 to 250 ft

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

Torch Lake depth chart data: water enclosed by each contour
Depth contour	Water inside it	Share of mapped water
5 ft	18,984 acres	100%
50 ft	13,089 acres	69%
100 ft	11,088 acres	58%
200 ft	7,476 acres	39%
250 ft	3,574 acres	19%

Acreages are computed from the closed Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours contour rings, with islands subtracted. Shares are of the 18,984 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 Torch Lake: steep walls and a big basin

Inside its outermost 5 ft contour the survey charts about 18,984 acres of Torch Lake, with the 200 ft line enclosing half of it, so depth comes quickly here, with no long shallow margin before the bottom drops away. The sharpest change on the chart is between 5 and 50 ft, where the mapped water loses 5,895 acres in 45 ft of depth, that band is the contour to work first, because it is where the bottom stops being flat. The deepest 250 ft contour holds 3,574 acres, 19% of the mapped water, toward the middle of the lake. 250 ft of water makes this a two-story fishery: warm-water fish hold the 5-to-200 ft ground while the basin can stay cold below the summer thermocline, and the traffic between the two runs along the 5–50 ft break at first and last light.

Ice fishing on Torch Lake

Torch 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 250 ft hole. The 5–50 ft band on the chart above is that edge: 5,895 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 5-to-200 ft flat. Check ice thickness locally before you walk out.

Torch Lake depth map FAQs

How deep is Torch Lake?: Torch Lake is more than 250 feet deep. The deepest contour in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey is the 250 foot line, and the lake continues deeper inside it.
Where is the deepest part of Torch Lake?: The deepest charted water on Torch Lake lies inside the 250 ft contour, toward the middle of the lake. That contour encloses 3,574 acres, 19% 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 Torch Lake is shallower than 200 feet?: About half. The 200 ft contour encloses 7,476 acres of the roughly 18,984 acres inside the outer 5 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 200 feet. The sharpest drop is between 5 and 50 feet, where the mapped water sheds 5,895 acres.
How accurate is this Torch 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 Torch Lake

Lake Bellaire depth map · 95+ ft max · 5 mi away
Elk Lake depth map · 150+ ft max · 9 mi away
Green Lake depth map · 57 ft max · 11 mi away
Lake Charlevoix depth map · 122 ft max · 20 mi away
Twin Lake depth map · 80+ ft max · 20 mi away

Mapped fishing venues near Torch Lake

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

Lake Bellaire · 5 mi away
Elk Lake · 9 mi away
Green Lake · 11 mi away

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