MichiganNatural lakeRoscommon County

Houghton Lake

Fed by the Muskegon River, Houghton Lake holds roughly 20,044 acres of water in Michigan. It lies in Roscommon County. Management is in the hands of MI EGLE / MI DNR / Roscommon County. The gauge last read 1,137.80 ft.

Water level today: 1,137.80 ft · see the full record

Photo: H.G. Judd · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

CountiesRoscommon County

Coordinates44.3389, -84.7250

Surface area20,044 acres

Max depth21 ft

RiverMuskegon River

Managed byMI EGLE / MI DNR / Roscommon County

Swimming beaches on Houghton Lake

No named swimming beach is mapped yet for this lake. Access is through agency day-use areas and boat ramps listed below. We add beach pages only when we can confirm a name, coordinates and an operating agency.

Houghton Lake on the map

Lake center, swimming spots and access points.

Get directions

Weather and water temperature

Air temperature and wind from Open-Meteo. Water temperature only when the lake has a public sensor.

Weather data by Open-Meteo

Water level today

Station 442400084472801, HOUGHTON LAKE NR HOUGHTON LAKE HEIGHTS, MI, publishes the water surface elevation used here. The last value stored here, 1,137.80 ft, is from 2026-09-09. Water level decides what is usable on the shoreline, from beach width to ramp access.

1,137.80 ft trend not available

Reading of Sep 9, 2026 · source: USGS

Full water level record for Houghton Lake

Is Houghton Lake good for swimming?

Its coordinates are 44.3389, -84.7250. It lies at roughly 1,138 feet of elevation. Maximum depth is around 21 feet.

Water temperature is not measured at this lake by any public agency we read. Swimming season in Michigan runs through the warm months, and day-use areas set their own opening dates. Water quality is monitored unevenly on inland lakes, so posted notices are the most reliable guide.

Nearby water includes Higgins Lake (Michigan, 10 mi), Lake St. Helen (Michigan, 13 mi) and Elk Lake (Michigan, 48 mi). Michigan has 42 lakes on this site in total.

County parks and private resorts sometimes provide access that federal datasets never record. There is no beach on record at Houghton Lake in the datasets this guide reads. North Beach, on Elk Lake, is the closest named beach in this guide, about 52 miles off.