Mona Lake is a freshwater lake located in
Norton Shores just outside the city of
Muskegon
Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expan ...
in the U.S. state of
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 ...
(
Muskegon County). Mona Lake is a sandy bottom lake that flows into Lake Michigan via the Mona Lake channel.
History
During the mid to late 1800s the lake had numerous lumber mills. Most prominent of these was Ferry's Mill. This mill was owned by
Grand Haven
Grand Haven is a city within the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Ottawa County. Grand Haven is located on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Grand River, for which it is named. As of the 2010 census, Grand H ...
's
Ferry family
The Ferrys were a prominent Michigan and Utah family between the early 19th Century to the early 20th Century.
See also
* Thomas W. White (born 1805), Thomas W. White, Michigan Politician who was William Montague Ferry's Brother in-law.
* Dana ...
.
Fishing
The lake is an exceptional fishery for big
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 ...
s,
black crappie
The black crappie (''Pomoxis nigromaculatus'') is a freshwater fish found in North America, one of the two types of crappies. It is very similar to the white crappie in size, shape, and habits, except that it is darker, with a pattern of black sp ...
,
bluegill
The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and ...
,
channel catfish
The channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus'') is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States, the ...
,
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 ...
,
muskellunge
The muskellunge ''(Esox masquinongy)'', often shortened to muskie, musky or lunge is a species of large freshwater predatory fish native to North America. It is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae.
Origin of name
The name "muskellun ...
(muskie),
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 ...
,
smallmouth bass,
white bass
The white bass, silver bass, or sand bass (''Morone chrysops'') is a freshwater fish of the temperate bass family Moronidae. commonly around 12-15 inches long. The species' main color is silver-white to pale green. Its back is dark, with white s ...
, salmon, and
yellow perch
The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samu ...
. There is a public access boat launch with hard-surface ramps on the north shore via Mona Lake Park. Mona Lake Park features a boat launch, a covered picnic shelter, parking, lighted fishing pier, beach and sporting facilities. Mona Lake is connected to Lake Michigan by a recreational channel. The park is located nearby the I-96 and US-31 Interchange
Parks and Recreation
There is a boating club on Mona Lake that is open to the public. The boating club features a full service gas station dock, boat launch, full service kitchen, restrooms, tiki bar, playground, picnic areas, and a sandy beach.
On the south side of Mona Lake is
Norton Shores'
Ross Park, which is a 43-acre park located on Randall Road.
Ross Park features a sandy beach area with playground equipment, a picnic area, a paved walkway and a volleyball area. There is also a boat parking area for those who want to come ashore.
Lake Harbor Parkis a 189 acre park located on Lake Harbor Road, just north of the Mona Lake Channel. The park has over 4000 feet on Lake Michigan, 2000 feet on the Mona Lake Channel and 1500 feet on Mona Lake. The park can be accessed by foot, bike, car or boat. The walkway along Mona Lake provides an ideal fishing area. The walkway passes under the bridge and leads to a picnic area overlooking the channel, complete with tables, grills, shelter and restrooms. A scenic deck overlooking the channel was completed in 2000. Going west from this walkway, an interpretive trail leads to the dunes, a wooden walkway with observation decks and a beautiful beach on Lake Michigan.
References
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Lakes of Michigan
Lakes of Muskegon County, Michigan