Lotus Lake is an all-sports,

Oakland County Oakland County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Metro Detroit, metropolitan Detroit area, located northwest of the city. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 Census, its population was 1, ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

lake along the

Clinton River The Clinton River is a river in southeastern Michigan in the United States. It is named in honor of DeWitt Clinton, who was governor of New York from 1817 to 1823. The main branch of the river rises from wetlands and coldwater tributaries from ...

. Most of the lake lies within Waterford Township, however the northern portion of the lake is in Independence Township. Lotus Lake connects with the Maceday Lake to the north, and connects upstream with Lester Lake. Boaters can get from Lotus Lake to Lester Lake only by way of a narrow culvert under the railroad tracks. Blain Island lies between Lotus Lake and Maceday Lake. It is accessible by car via a bridge. There are three bridges on the island, affectionately named Lloyd, Beau and Jeff by the residents. There are mostly high-end luxury homes on the island. There is a public boat launch on Maceday Lake which allows boaters to easily access Lotus Lake.

Name

Lotus Lake is named for the Lotus flower. The flower is a water lily and can be seen among the lily pads on the lake.

Depot

In 1851, the

Detroit and Milwaukee Railway Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at the ...

came through Waterford Township and in so doing made the lakes of the area, including Lotus Lake, easily accessible to summer vacationers from the big cities. The Windiate depot, along with the

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

depot, the Drayton Plains depot and the Clarkston depot served to make Waterford Township and Independence Township a resort area.

Resort

The Windiate Park Hotel was a summer resort for vacationers from

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

and

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

. The resort was easily accessed by four trains a day during the summer months from the 1890s to the 1940s and was located on Lotus Lake near the Windiate depot. It featured boating, fishing, sailing, sunbathing, tennis and a dance hall. The resort was owned by J.D. and M.L. Rice.

Fish

Fish in Lotus Lake include

pumpkinseed sunfish The pumpkinseed (''Lepomis gibbosus''), also referred to as pond perch, common sunfish, punkie, sunfish, sunny, and kivver, is a small/medium-sized North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Lepomis'' (true sunfishes), from family Centrarchi ...

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, but ...

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...

and

crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...

References

{{authority control Lakes of Oakland County, Michigan Lakes of Michigan Lakes of Waterford Township, Michigan Lakes of Independence Township, Michigan