Largest lakes & reservoirs in Michigan by shoreline length
The length of the exterior shoreline around a lake is measured at the lake’s normal elevation. The shoreline length can be considerably shorter or longer when lake water levels are lower or higher than normal. A lake with many coves has a much longer shoreline than a lake of similar surface area that is nearly circular in shape.When known, the shoreline miles that we report in our statistics include only the lake’s exterior shoreline, and exclude the shorelines of islands located within a lake’s boundaries. In lakes with many islands, those islands’ combined shorelines may exceed a lake’s exterior shoreline.
You can find many of the world’s longest-shoreline lakes on LakeLubbers. Note: For some lakes, "Longest Shorelines" data is unknown or does not apply, so this table may display fewer lakes than the total 90 articles we have published for Michigan lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US Midwest Region > Michigan > Compared by longest shoreline length in miles. This list does not represent all lakes in Michigan, only the 90 Michigan lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name | Shoreline length in miles | Lake description |
---|---|---|
Black Lake MI (Michigan, Northeast Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
19 mi | Black Lake is a popular sporting lake located in Cheboygan and Presque Isle counties in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Surrounded by acres of water and s … |
Hubbard Lake (Michigan, Northeast Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
19 mi | Also known as Bottomless Lake, Alcona Lake, Coral Lake Summer in Michigan’s Northeast region is synonymous with a place like Hubbard Lake. Less than 20 miles inland from Lake Huron’s ‘sunrise coast’, Hubba … |
Lac Vieux Desert, MI/WI (Lake Superior Northwoods Region, WI, Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA, Upper Peninsula Region, MI, Wisconsin) |
19 mi | Also known as Lac Vieux Lake Lac Vieux Desert is the French name for this 4,260-acre lake of Michigan and Wisconsin. The name was given by French fur trappers who were among the f … |
Lake Saint Helen, MI (Michigan, Northeast Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
18 mi | Also known as Lake St. Helen Lake Saint Helen is located in Roscommon County of northern Michigan near Interstate 75 and right next to the town of St. Helen – Charlton Heston’s ch … |
Gun Lake, MI (Michigan, Southwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
18 mi | Beautiful Gun Lake, located off US 131 north of Kalamazoo, Michigan, has been a vacation and boating destination for well over a hundred years. Origin … |
Long Lake Grand Traverse County, MI (Michigan, Northwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
17 mi | Long Lake, near Traverse City in Grand Traverse County, is a popular vacation destination with activities and vistas that lighten the soul. Whether yo … |
Intermediate Lake, MI (Michigan, Northwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
15 mi | Also known as Central Lake, Elk River Chain of Lakes Intermediate Lake, in Antrim County is one of the main lakes in the Elk River Chain of Lakes which include Beals, Scotts, Six Mile, St. Clair, Ellswor … |
Lake Macatawa, MI (Michigan, Southwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
14 mi | Also known as Black Lake The Ottawa tribe of Native Americans called Lake Macatawa “Ma-Ca-Ta-Wa” or Black Lake. The water, like many lakes in northern states, was dark from ta … |
Otsego Lake MI (Michigan, Northwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
12 mi | A plane’s deep droning in the distance becomes louder and louder as visitors at Otsego Lake look up towards the sky. Those new to the scene quickly re … |
White Lake MI (Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA, West Central Michigan) |
12 mi | Will White Lake again become the economic driver for the cities of Whitehall and Montague in Michigan’s West Central Region? That’s entirely possible … |
Coldwater Lake MI (Michigan, Southwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
12 mi | Coldwater Lake, in quiet Southwest Michigan, is the epitome of the traditional Michigan lake vacation destination. Nestled just north of the Indiana s … |
Lake Bellaire (Michigan, Northwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
12 mi | Also known as Grass Lake Michigan has a bounty of beautiful lakes, and those found in Antrim County are no exception. Lake Bellaire is situated to the east of Lake Michigan; t … |