As a Michigander, we know that no matter where you live in the Mitten State, you are never more than six miles away from an inland lake or eighty-five miles away from a Great Lake. With that said, there are so many lakes to choose from that it truly depends on who you are asking in regards to what the best boating lakes are in Michigan.
One of my favorite memories is when we took our children for a day of boating that began on Indian River to Mullet Lake that fed into the Cheboygan River, that leadsto Lake Michigan. We stopped at a restaurant on the way to Lake Michigan for dinner and then we had to head back to our place on Indian River before it was dark as navigating on the Cheyboygan River is very difficult at night.
It also depends on what type of boating you are doing. For example, below is a basic list of the many types of boats you can choose from:
- Pontoon boats
- Fishing vessel
- Deck boats
- Catamaran
- Jet boats
- Superyacht
- Runabouts
- Center console boats
- Fishing trawler
- Bass boat
- Cruisers
- Dinghy
- Johnboat
- Bowrider
- Houseboats
- Lifeboat
- Wakeboard
- Yacht
- Canoe/kayak
- Sailing yachts
- Ski boats
- Cabin cruisers
- Sailboats
- Personal watercraft/jet ski
If you ask our state official Travel and Tourism website, Pure Michigan, they will tell you that these are the best boating lakes in Michigan:
- “Les Cheneaux Islands – Lake Huron (The Les Cheneaux Islands Resort Area is located in Michigan’s Eastern Upper Peninsula)
- Torch Lake – Alden (clear, Caribbean blue waters and breathtaking beauty)
- Lake St. Clair – Detroit (the lake that connects Lakes Erie to Lake Huron and the Detroit River)
- Spring Lake and Lake Michigan – Grand Haven (boating history of this popular tourist town goes back to the days when the fur traders were the ones plying the waters… It’s also been named the official “Coast Guard City USA.”)
- Big Manistique Lake – Curtis (The largest of the Manistique collection of lakes, this 20,000 acre lake connects to hundreds of miles of rivers and streams, making it attractive for boating and fishing alike)
- Lake Charlevoix – Charlevoix and Boyne City (A USA Today poll once named this second most beautiful lake in the country, a close second only to California’s Lake Tahoe)
- Grand Lake – Alpena
- Mullett Lake – Topinabee (With 26 miles of surface area, Mullet Lake is known as the lake with room for everyone… part of the Inland Waterway, a series of connected lakes and rivers that can take you from one side of the state to the other by water)
- Lake Leelanau – Leland
- Gull Lake – Battle Creek (total surface area of more than 2,000 acres, and there’s a notable sport fishery for trout, salmon, smallmouth bass, smelt and yellow perch),”.
Personally, I am not a fan of Lake St. Clair as I am a West-sider, and this lake hosts too many East-siders, in my opinion. Mostly because it is often on the “not safe for swimming” list. If I cannot get on any of the Great Lakes, I enjoy my home lake where I live, in the Lakes Area of Southeast Michigan in the County of Oakland.
How many lakes are in Oakland County?
There are 387 lakes in Oakland County, and of those lakes, 317 are named, while 70 are unnamed lakes.
When I was in college, I worked in the restaurant business as a server and a bartender. Growing up in Canton for most of my life, I knew that I would make the most money in restaurants located in Oakland County, as it is home to some of the wealthiest cities in the country, such as Bloomfield Hills and Birmingham.
While working at a restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, I often pulled double shifts, and because I lived almost an hour away, in between those shifts, I would drive around to look at and sit by the lakes in the area. Immediately, I fell in love with the area. Naturally, out of college, I couldn’t yet afford to be on Orchard Lake, so I found a beautiful area in the Commerce/West Bloomfield location where they are affectionately nicknamed “The Lakes Area.”
The inland lakes around here are well taken care of, clean, have great fishing, and have fewer incidents of accidents and deaths. The people are friendly, and it has a small-town feel yet has all the amenities that one needs to live and raise a family.
Additionally, this area is home to several state parks, county parks, and city parks. There is no shortage of trees, lakes, and wildlife. In fact, on a daily basis, I get to see two different bald eagles fly over my house to the lake that they call home – they live in one of the oldest lakeside trees in the area.
Metromode, a digital news magazine, cites the following about Oakland County lakes:
- “Oakland County’s lakes are a gift from the ice age (The lakes are the result of the de-glaciation of this region about 17,000 years ago)
- Native people first knew the beauty of Oakland’s lakes (Historical records from the early 1800s suggest the lakes drew native American populations, presumably for their rich stores of fish and birds…The Potawatomi maintained a seasonal village in the northwest shore of Walled Lake as late as the 1820s)
- Oakland County’s lakes were once the “up north” to Detroiters (to some, they still are)
- Lakes are for the birds (Fall migration season means Oakland County’s lakes welcome a variety of duck, geese and swan)
- Lakes spur industry… and connect generations
- Lakes boost property values (Oakland County’s lakes add more than $1 billion in value to Oakland County’s residential properties…water-based recreation generates about $200 million annually in the county.)
- Lakes are managed by the people who live on them (Addressing lake and watershed health issues is an important part of the work of a lake association or lake management board, which is a collective of local government and resident stakeholders who work collaboratively to monitor such things as water bacteria and invasive aquatic species and plants.)
- Shorelines are critical to lake health
A judge sets many of Oakland County’s lake levels (By law, 54 of Oakland County’s lakes in the river basins of the Clinton, Huron, Rouge, Shiawassee and Flint Rivers have water levels which are monitored and maintained by court order to provide flood control, maximize recreation and protect property values.),”.
What is the coldest lake in the United States
Fortunately, I have had the privilege of swimming in four of the five Great Lakes, as well as many rivers, while traveling and camping with my family. By far, Lake Superior, with its northernmost location, is the coldest lake to swim in.
The Great Lakes Commission notes that, “With an average depth approaching 500 feet, Superior also is the coldest and deepest (1,332 feet) of the Great Lakes. The lake stretches approximately 350 miles from west to east, and 160 miles north to south, with a shoreline almost 2,800 miles long. The drainage basin, totaling 49,300 square miles, encompasses parts of Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ontario,”.
Best boating lakes in Michigan
In conclusion, Michigan offers countless boating adventures with diverse options, like Torch Lake’s Caribbean-blue waters, Lake Huron, and the many inland lakes of Oakland County.