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Protecting Northern Michigan's ​Water Resources

Larks Lake

Larks Lake is a quiet, shallow, and largely pristine lake in northern Emmet County. Although moderately large in terms of surface area, depths are limited to just a few feet throughout much of the lake. Larks Lake is fed by springs and water flows out of the lake through Brush Creek on the southwest shore.

600 acres

OF SURFACE AREA

4 miles

OF SHORELINE

9 feet

MAX DEPTH

Overview of Larks Lake

Primary Inflows

Headwaters

Primary Outflows

Surface Area

600 acres

Shoreline

4 miles

Maximum Depth

9 feet

Known Aquatic Invasive Species

Description:

Larks Lake is a quiet, shallow, and largely pristine lake in northern Emmet County. Although moderately large in terms of surface area, depths are limited to just a few feet throughout much of the lake. Larks Lake is fed by springs and water flows out of the lake through Brush Creek on the southwest shore. Brush Creek flows into the West Branch of the Maple River, which flows into Burt Lake, and eventually through the Cheboygan River into Lake Huron. Popular recreational activities include fishing, boating, and swimming.
The substrate on the bottom of Larks Lake is mostly muck and marl. Marl is a mixture of crumbly clay, sand, and accumulated calcium carbonate that is commonly found on the bottom of lakes in the Cheboygan River Watershed. The calcium carbonate is the result of the limestone bedrock of the region, which was formed long ago by coral reefs and the deposition of shells and skeletons of marine organisms in an ancient sea. Fossilized shells and polished fragments of corals (Petoskey Stones) commonly found in the area are relics of this time long gone.

Larks Lake is important not just because of the recreational activities it provides; it is also a large source of water to the Pleasantview Swamp. At 6,544 acres, the Pleasantview Swamp is one of the largest uninterrupted wetlands in northern Lower Michigan. Because it is at the headwaters of the West Branch of the Maple River, the swamp is extremely important for protecting the water quality of this renowned trout stream. The Pleasantview Swamp also provides habitat for a magnificent variety of plant and animal life, including bobcats, black bear, otters, bald eagles, and osprey. 

In 2006 the Larks Lake Watershed Management Plan was written, with funding from the Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation and the Ann K. Irish Charitable Fund. The Plan provides a background of the Watershed, along with recommendations to protect the water quality of Larks Lake.

Monitoring and Research:

Larks Lake is monitored every three years through the Watershed Council’s Comprehensive Water Quality Monitoring (CWQM) Program for dissolved oxygen, specific conductivity, pH, nitrate-nitrogen, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and chloride levels.

Water transparency, chlorophyll-a, and water temperature are also monitored in Larks Lake each summer by volunteers as part of the Watershed Council’s Volunteer Lake Monitoring (VLM) Program.

This lake is monitored through the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Surface Water Quality Protection Program (SWQPP).

Additional Resources:

See additional resources on our Aquavist page.

A wide variety of maps for this area are available online at the Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI) Data Resources page.

TitleCategoriesLinkhf:doc_categories
2022 Larks Lake Watershed Management PlanEGLE/EPA Approved Watershed Management Plans, Larks Lake, Larks Lake Watershedwatershed-plan-approved larks-lake larks-lake-watershed inland-lakes watersheds
2022 Larks Lake Shoreline SurveyLarks Lake, Shoreline Surveyslarks-lake shoreline-surveys inland-lakes
2020 Larks Lake Aquatic SurveyAquatic Plant Surveys, Larks Lakeaquatic-plant-surveys larks-lake inland-lakes
2018 Burt Lake Watershed Management PlanBurt Lake, Burt Lake Additional Docs, Burt Lake Watershed, Crooked Lake, Douglas Lake, EGLE/EPA Approved Watershed Management Plans, Huffman Lake, Lancaster Lake, Larks Lake, Mud Lake, Munro Lake, Pickerel Lake, Round Lake, Spring Lake, Thumb Lake, Wildwood Lakeburt burt-lake-additional-docs burt-lake-watershed crooked-lake douglas-lake watershed-plan-approved huffman-lake lancaster-lake larks-lake mud-lake munro-lake pickerel-lake round-lake spring-lake thumb-lake wildwood-lake inland-lakes watersheds
2010 Small Gem Lakes ProfileBass Lake, Birch Lake, Deer Lake, Huffman Lake, Larks Lake, Long Lake, Marion Lake, Nowland Lake, Silver Lake, Susan Lake, Thumb Lake, Twin Lake, Wildwood Lakebass-lake birch-lake deer-lake huffman-lake larks-lake long-lake marion-lake nowland-lake silver-lake susan-lake thumb-lake twin-lake wildwood-lake inland-lakes

Welcome to the 2022 Shoreline Survey of Larks Lake. First, find your unique ID on the upper right corner of the shoreline survey letter mailed to your property. Next, enter your unique ID in the box on the left under “Unique ID number–Type in your unique ID.”

Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council conducted a 2022 Shoreline Survey of Larks Lake with funding from the Larks Lake Association. The Watershed Council circumnavigated the entire Larks Lake shoreline on kayaks to document signs of nutrient pollution (algal growth), habitat loss, and shoreline erosion. 

Larks Lake Association
Larks Lake Association
Larks Lake Association is a group of lake property owners who try to protect and improve Larks Lake.
Michigan

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