Black Lake (Michigan)
Encyclopedia
Black Lake is located in Cheboygan
and Presque Isle
counties in Northern Michigan
. With a surface area of 10,130 acres (41 km²), it is the seventh largest inland lake in Michigan. The largest body of water in the Black River
watershed, it drains through the Lower Black and Cheboygan River
s into Lake Huron
. Black Lake is a summer destination for many families from the suburban Detroit area and from other nearby states as well as residents of the neighboring town of Onaway
.
Onaway State Park
, at the southeastern end of the lake, offers camping, swimming and fishing. Its buildings, built during the Great Depression
by the Civilian Conservation Corps
, have been deemed eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places
.
Businesses on or near the lake include the Black River Marina, The Bluffs Restaurant and The 211 Outpost. Since the late 1960s, the United Auto Workers
Union has maintained the Walter and May Reuther
Family Education Center on the site of a former private estate.
Black Lake is noted for its unusual fishing season. A limited lake sturgeon
ice fishing
season is permitted in the winter. The fishery is limited to five total fish taken each year, each over 36 inches and taken through the ice with fishing spears. 25 anglers are chosen by lottery each day and given a flag to raise when they have caught a fish. When five flags have been raised the season is closed for the year. Seasons have lasted as little as a few hours.
Cheboygan County, Michigan
-Commercial Airline:There are no commercial airline airports in Cheboygan County but the nearest ones are Alpena County Regional Airport, Chippewa County International Airport , and Cherry Capital Airport...
and Presque Isle
Presque Isle County, Michigan
Presque Isle County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the population was 14,411. The county seat is Rogers City....
counties in Northern Michigan
Northern Michigan
Northern Michigan, also known as Northern Lower Michigan , is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan...
. With a surface area of 10,130 acres (41 km²), it is the seventh largest inland lake in Michigan. The largest body of water in the Black River
Black River (Cheboygan County)
Black River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan, flowing mostly northward through four Northern Michigan counties: Otsego, Montmorency, Presque Isle, and Cheboygan. The Black River flows into the Cheboygan River at , just south of the city of Cheboygan...
watershed, it drains through the Lower Black and Cheboygan River
Cheboygan River
The Cheboygan River is a short but significant river in the Lake Huron drainage basin of the U.S. state of Michigan. in length, the Cheboygan River flows from the north end of Mullett Lake at to the Straits of Mackinac at . The river forms the boundary between Benton Township and Inverness...
s into Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
. Black Lake is a summer destination for many families from the suburban Detroit area and from other nearby states as well as residents of the neighboring town of Onaway
Onaway, Michigan
Onaway is a city in Presque Isle County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 933 at the 2000 census. Onaway is the Sturgeon Capital of Michigan.-Commercial airports:...
.
Onaway State Park
Onaway State Park
Onaway State Park is a state park in Presque Isle County, Michigan at the end of M-211 on Black Lake in North Allis Township 5 miles north of Onaway.-Facilities:* Boat Launch* Campground - 96 Sites, 1 Cabin* Picnic Area...
, at the southeastern end of the lake, offers camping, swimming and fishing. Its buildings, built during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
by the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
, have been deemed eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Businesses on or near the lake include the Black River Marina, The Bluffs Restaurant and The 211 Outpost. Since the late 1960s, the United Auto Workers
United Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers , is a labor union which represents workers in the United States and Puerto Rico, and formerly in Canada. Founded as part of the Congress of Industrial...
Union has maintained the Walter and May Reuther
Walter Reuther
Walter Philip Reuther was an American labor union leader, who made the United Automobile Workers a major force not only in the auto industry but also in the Democratic Party in the mid 20th century...
Family Education Center on the site of a former private estate.
Black Lake is noted for its unusual fishing season. A limited lake sturgeon
Lake sturgeon
The lake sturgeon is a North American temperate freshwater fish, one of about 20 species of sturgeon. Like other sturgeons, this species is an evolutionarily ancient bottomfeeder with a partly cartilaginous skeleton and skin bearing rows of bony plates...
ice fishing
Ice fishing
Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice anglers may sit on the stool in the open on a frozen lake, or in a heated cabin on the ice, some with bunks and amenities.-Locations:It is a popular pastime...
season is permitted in the winter. The fishery is limited to five total fish taken each year, each over 36 inches and taken through the ice with fishing spears. 25 anglers are chosen by lottery each day and given a flag to raise when they have caught a fish. When five flags have been raised the season is closed for the year. Seasons have lasted as little as a few hours.
History
- The early history of the area was dominated by lumbering and mining. The remains of a long-abandoned limestone quarry are still visible on the south shore of the lake.
- The Black Lake Association, founded in 1920, works to maintain the lake's water quality, to promote and improve its walleyeWalleyeWalleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...
and sturgeon fisheries, to keep its members informed about environmental issues that affect them, their property, and the lake itself, and to maintain a record of the lake's vital statistics.
- During the tornado outbreak of October 17, 2007, Black lake was impacted by an EF1 tornado that lasted 10 miles on the ground. No deaths were recorded, but a barn and some land was partially ruined in the wake.