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Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes · Small town
Elk Rapids
For paddlers and boaters: a village between East Grand Traverse Bay and Elk Lake, at the end of the Chain of Lakes Water Trail, with a harbor and downtown.
About 3 miles away (straight line)
Lake · Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Elk Lake
A deep, clear, emerald-green all-sports lake at Elk Rapids: ski and cruise, rent a boat or slip at the marinas, swim at Whitewater Township Park.
Photo: Notorious4life, Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)
Elk Lake is deep, clear, all-sports water: about 8,088 acres, 192 feet at its deepest and 67 on average, with no local speed or hour limits, so you can ski, tube and cruise (boats towing skiers circle counter-clockwise under the lakes association’s rules summary). Elk Rapids sits at the north end with a marina, village slips and a launch, Whitewater Township Park has the sandy swim beach, and trout anglers work the deep water. The lake is just inland from East Grand Traverse Bay, and the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council calls it Michigan’s second-deepest inland lake.
The water is the draw. The lake is low in nutrients and rich in dissolved oxygen, and in summer it turns emerald green. On a clear day you can look down to the rocky floor of the old flooded river channel. For a swim, Whitewater Township Park has a sandy beach beside its campground, and boats can be rented in Elk Rapids.
It is the final lake in the Elk River Chain of Lakes. Water from Torch Lake and Lake Skegemog comes in through the Skegemog Narrows, and the lake empties through the short Elk River into the bay. A dam on the river, first built in the 1860s and still producing hydroelectric power, raised Elk and Skegemog lakes about five feet and keeps sea lamprey out of the chain.
The numbers, from the Elk-Skegemog Lakes Association: about 8,088 acres, nearly 26 miles of shoreline, a maximum depth of 192 feet and an average of 67. The lake straddles the Antrim and Grand Traverse county line.
Not all of the shore is built up. Protected natural areas line parts of it, including the Kewadin Wetlands Natural Area on the north shore and the South Elk Lake Wetlands Nature Preserve on the southeast shore.
On the water
Motorboats and rules
No special local limits are listed for Elk Lake, so standard Michigan boating law applies. The Elk River below the lake is slow, no-wake from the Elk Rapids dam up to the island.
Swimming
Whitewater Township Park at 9500 Park Road, Williamsburg, has a sandy beach on Elk Lake beside its campground.
Public access
You have several ways onto the lake. Public access points include a Michigan DNR boat launch, county and township parks, road ends and pedestrian easements, and several Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy parcels.
Paddling
Elk Lake is the last lake on the Chain of Lakes Water Trail, a network of more than 100 miles of lakes and rivers that ends in East Grand Traverse Bay.
Fishing
Elk Lake is on the Michigan DNR's list of better fishing waters for lake trout, lake whitefish, rainbow trout, rock bass and smallmouth bass. Its lake trout are a distinctive strain that DNR biologists study for their deep-water spawning. Check current Michigan DNR rules before fishing.
Fish species
Species include lake trout, lake whitefish, rainbow trout, rock bass, and smallmouth bass.
Stocking
The DNR stocked brown trout every year from 2018 through 2026, and rainbow trout in 2018.
Water clarity
Elk is a clear, low-nutrient (oligotrophic) lake with oxygen all the way to the bottom. On clear days you can see the rocky floor of the old flooded river channel.
Connected waters
Elk is the last lake in the Elk River Chain of Lakes. Lake Skegemog opens into it through the Skegemog Narrows, and the Elk River carries its water past the dam at Elk Rapids into East Grand Traverse Bay.
In winter
Ice timing varies a lot. The Elk-Skegemog Lakes Association has recorded freeze and thaw dates for years: the earliest freeze on record came December 22, 1989, and the latest January 28, 1995.
Public boat launches
Whitewater Township Park launch
Township park launch at 9500 Park Road, Williamsburg, next to the beach and campground.
Elk Rapids harbor Elk Lake ramp (Village of Elk Rapids)
The village harbor lists a two-lane boat launch ramp on Elk Lake, separate from its four-lane ramp on Grand Traverse Bay.
Marinas
- Elk Rapids Marina
On Elk Lake. It lists transient and seasonal slip rentals, a gas dock, a service department, boat storage and boat rentals.
- Elk Rapids Edward C. Grace Memorial Harbor (Elk Lake slips)
The village harbor keeps 52 slips on Elk Lake, courtesy dockage for a stop in town and a two-lane launch ramp on the lake. Its main harbor, fuel dock and pump-out are on Grand Traverse Bay.
Boat, kayak and paddleboard rentals
- Elk Rapids Marina
Pontoons, tri-toons, a wake surf boat and electric jet skis on Elk Lake; some boats can run up the chain to Torch Lake, as listed on its site.
- Vacation Water Sports
Pontoon and jet ski rentals delivered to Elk Lake and other Chain of Lakes waters, as listed on its site.
Listed because their own sites say they rent on this water. Not an endorsement, and we have no ties to them. Check with them for what is available.
Fishing, launching at a state site or parking at a state park? See licenses and passes for what you need before you go.
Anything not listed here is unverified. Do not assume public access across private shoreline. Check the Michigan DNR boating access listings and the current fishing regulations.
Through the seasons
Location
Map of Elk Lake
2 places on an OpenStreetMap map
Places to stay near Elk Lake
Lakefront cottages and homes are listed by the local rental managers and booking sites below.
Hotels and inns
Budget
The Dexter HotelListed by the Elk Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce
Search all hotels in Elk Rapids: Booking.com · Expedia · Hotels.com · Google Hotels
We don’t take bookings or earn anything from these links. Rates, availability and any booking problems are handled by the booking site.
Nearby towns
Nearby attractions
Straight-line distances from the map point.
Beach
Dam Beach (Elk Rapids)
A white-sand village beach on East Grand Traverse Bay beside the Elk Rapids hydro plant, off Ames Street, with a natural feel and a popular fishing spot nearby.
About 3 miles away (straight line)
Trail
Vasa Pathway
Traverse City's big woods trail for cross-country skiing, with loops from 3K to 25K, snowshoe loops, and singletrack for mountain and fat bikes.
About 9 miles away (straight line)
Lighthouse
Mission Point Lighthouse
An 1870 lighthouse at the northern tip of the Old Mission Peninsula, with a climbable tower, a small museum, a beach and trails around it.
About 10 miles away (straight line)
More lakes and rivers nearby
River · Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Elk River
The short river in Elk Rapids where the Chain of Lakes Water Trail ends, with a kayak launch, steelhead below the dam and salmon in fall.
- Public launch
Lake · Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Lake Skegemog
A shallow, wetland-edged, all-sports lake between Torch and Elk: muskie and pike, perch through the ice and a paddle past a big protected shoreline.
- All-sports
- Public launch
Lake · Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Torch Lake
Michigan's longest inland lake: 19 miles of deep, clear, all-sports water for skiing, tubing and the sandbar, plus lake trout and a Chain of Lakes link.
- All-sports
- Swim beach
- Public launch
- Rentals