Best Public Lakes in White Lake Township

There are four public lakes in White Lake Township Michigan.  The State of Michigan years ago tried to buy land on the bigger lakes in Michigan so the public could have access to the water.  It was in the best interest of the public that they did that.  However most of the time the lake residents fought the state to keep them from putting a State of Michigan DNR boat launch on their lake.  The State of Michigan bought land for their DNR boat launches on the bigger lakes in the state first and on other lakes that there was not a lot of opposition.

White Lakes four public lakes are:

• Cedar Island Lake                        all sports lake           169 acres       public
• Long Lake(just partially in)          all sports lake             46 acres       public
• Pontiac Lake                                 all sports lake           612 acres       public
• White Lake                                    all sports lake           540 acres       public 

$1,180,000

10736 Bogie Lake Road

White Lake Township, MI

Beds: 4 • Baths: 3 full/1 partial

$1,099,900

1745 Ridge Road

White Lake Township, MI

Beds: 4 • Baths: 3 full/1 partial

$955,000

3453 ORMOND Road W

White Lake Township, MI

Beds: 3 • Baths: 2 full/1 partial

$900,000

8783 Cooley Beach Drive

White Lake Township, MI

Beds: 4 • Baths: 3 full

$1,100,000

9090 Buckingham Street

White Lake Township, MI

Beds: 3 • Baths: 3 full

Pontiac Lake White Lake Township

Pontiac Lake is one of Oakland County's largest throwback lake.  What we mean by that is Pontiac Lake homes have not been updated or enlarged like so many other lakes and lake homes.  Some of the reasoning behind that is many of the lake homes are small older cottages from the 1920's to 1950's.  They are on small lots from 25 feet to less than 50 feet of lake frontage.  So it is hard to put larger homes on these small lots even with sewers.  Pontiac Lake homes are on sewers so you do not need a septic field or the extra land on your lot to put a septic field.

Pontiac Lake homes are close together and that turns off some lake home buyers.  There is no home owner association so sometimes some of the homes are not kept up the way some lake home buyers want.  There are sometimes old boats, trailers, snowmobiles and junk around some of the houses.  This turns off some home buyers so you are not going to find a lot of bigger lake homes on Pontiac Lake.  We think it is going to stay that way for years to come.  It is just too costly to buy two homes to tear down to build a bigger lake home.  The home you built would have to be worth over a million dollars and Pontiac Lake homes do not support prices like that.

•  All Sports                                       Yes
• Size                                                 612 acres
• Deepest Spot                                   34 foot
• Overall average depth                     8 ft (guess by marina owner)
• Wake Restrictions                            A couple of no wake zones
• Public Beach                                    State Park & several marinas/picnic rental areas
• Public boat access                            State park & several marinas
• Public access parking                       Lots
• Water Source                                    Huron River Watershed
• Lake Association                              NO
• Islands                                              17 islands
• Cities the lake lies in                        White Lake Twp. & a small tip of the lake in Waterford Twp
• School district for the lake               Waterford & Huron Valley 
• Streets around the lake are                 Paved, 
• City water                                          Well, muncipal, community
• City sewer                                          Mostly sewer though some still on septic
• Canals on Lake                                  yes
• Lots over an acre on lake                   no
• water-ski course                                 n/a
• Condominiums                                  yes

White Lake White Lake Township

Russ lives on White Lake and he loves it.  It has 3 islands.  On the southern most island these is a large sandy shallow area where whole families come to hang out.  The kids play in the shallows while the parents talk with there friends.  On the north part of the lake there are two islands.  On the east side of the islands and between the islands I would say this is more of the drinking hang out area for adults.  You do not see a lot of the young children here.  The bottom is rockier.  It's never out of control really.   You are not going to see fights or anything like that.  It is just a good time area.

Another great feature of the lake is the White Lake Inn.  It's not known for it's excellent food, it's more of a burger and beer place.  It is a gathering place for the lake residents.  You will usually see somebody you know at the WLI.  Sometimes it gets so busy that you cannot even pull on your boat because all the docks are full.

• All sports lake                              Yes
• Public access                                Yes
• Public access parking                   18 spaces
• Surface area                                  540 acres
• Public Beach                                 No
• Size N to S                                    Roughly 1 1/2 mile long
• Size E to W                                    Roughly 1/3 to 1/2 mile
• Maximum depth                            32 feet
• North end depth                             Mostly under 8 ft deep
• South end depth                              Around 20 ft deep 
• Lake Associations                           Yes - Multiple associations
• Wake restrictions                             No wake in the canal and some bays   
• Water source                                    Part of the Huron River Watershed
• Cities the lake lies in                        White Lake, Highland
• School district for the lake               Huron Valley
• Streets around the lake are               Paved, grvel
• City water                                         Well
• City sewer                                         Septic
• Canals on Lake                                  yes
• Lots over an acre on lake                   yes
• Water-ski course                                 n/a
• Condominiums                                   no 

Cedar Island Lake White Lake Township 

I love Cedar Island Lake.  I used to water ski on the lake years ago.  It is not a big lake but is a good lake for skiing because the lake is irregular shaped.  There are multiple bays big enough for skiiers to go through.   There are also a few canals that have bays attached to them.  With all the canals and bays on the lake it makes a good pontoon boat ride.  So much to see on a leisurely cruise on your pontoon.  Here is a map of what Cedar Island Lake looks like.

It is a public lake but there are so few parking spots that the lake is never over run by non residents.  The only time you see a lot of boats from non residents is when they have the 4th of July fireworks on the lake.  They do have a shallow area on the east side of the lake where some of the lake residents gather to hang out and have fun. 

• All sports                                  Yes
• Size                                           169 acres suface area
• Deepest spot                              72 ft
• Overall depth                             Unknown to me 
• Wake Restrictions                      All Canals are no wake
• Public Beach                              No
• Public access                              Yes
• Public access parking                 4 vehicles 
• Water Source                              Huron River Watershed Oxbow Lake
• Lake Association                        Multiple
• Cities the lake lies in                  White Lake
• School district for the lake         Walled Lake, Huron Valley
• Streets around the lake are          paved, private 
• City water                                    well
• City sewer                                   septic
• Canals on Lake                           yes
• Lots over an acre on lake            yes
• Water-ski course                         n/a
• Condominiums                            no

Long Lake White Lake Township

 Long Lake is one of the smaller lakes in Oakland County that has a public DNR access.  It is smaller than Cedar Island Lake just by a few acres.   The lake is shallow, having an average depth of around 5 feet and a maximum
depth of 14 feet.  Most of Long Lake is in Commerce with just a small portion in White Lake Township

In 1960 the lake averaged only 2.4 feet deep and had a maximum depth of 7 feet and the bottom consisted primarily of peat, weeds, and marl. Prior to 1965 winterkills of fish occurred frequently, with severe winterkills taking place in 1936 and 1945. In 1960, the property owners on Long Lake contracted to have the entire lake hydraulically dredged. From 1961 to  1965, a total of 1.1 million cubic yards of bottom material were removed from Long Lake at a cost of $185,000. The lake was re-mapped in 1965. Following construction, the lake measured 156 acres, tenacres larger than before dredging, and the lake averaged 6.6 feet deep. The volume of the lake
increased from 361 acre feet to 925 acre feet. After dredging, sand was the predominant lake substrate
and winterkill no longer occurred.

• All sports lake                                 Yes
• Private                                             No
• Size                                                 156 acres (DNR) or 125 acres (depending on who you believe)
• Maximum Depth                            14 feet average depth is 5' 
• Public Access                                  Yes
• Public Beach                                   No only subdivision association beaches
• Wake restrictions                             Unknown
• Water Source                                    Unknown
• Cities the lake lies in                        Commerce
• School district for the lake               Walled Lake
• Streets around the lake are               Paved
• City water                                         Well
• City sewer                                         Septic, Sewer sanitary
• Canals on Lake                                 yes
• Lots over an acre on lake                  yes
• Water-ski course                                n/a
• Condominiums                                  no

 Whether you are looking to buy or sell a lake home on any of these 4 public lakes in White Lake Township or anywhere in Southeast Michigan hire the best lakefront real estate agent.  We are the most knowledgeable real estate agents on our local lakes.  It will make your life and your move so much easier.    Call us today to see how we can help you.  The Bertera Ravary Team your local Metro Detroit Realtors. 

248-310-6239