Silver Lake is a lake in

Grand Traverse County, Michigan Grand Traverse County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 95,238, making it the largest county in Northern Michigan. Its county seat is Traverse City. The county is part of the Trave ...

. It is roughly from the northern to southern ends. The lake is known for its

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

coasts, irregular shoreline, and many

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

s and

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

s, despite being smaller in size. Its maximum depth is , making it the third deepest lake in Grand Traverse County. It is also the fourth-largest lake entirely within Grand Traverse County, after Long Lake, Green Lake, and Duck Lake.

History

Silver Lake was originally named Lake Kratochvil, after the small nearby town called Kratochvil's Plat (which is now a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

), itself named after Frank Kratochvil, a local settler. Frank's daughter, Anna, was the mother of W.D.C. Germaine, mayor of nearby

Traverse City Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was ...

. The lake was later named Silver Lake. Until sometime in the early 1900s, Blair Township was known as "Silver Lake Township". In 1965, the ''Silver Lake Improvement Association'' was established to promote the care and preservation of Silver Lake. In 1987, the Grand Traverse County Drain Commission installed a high water outflow dam at the southern end of the lake.

Recreation

Silver Lake is a local hotspot for fishing. It is known for its

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

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 ...

Perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

Pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

, Lake sunfish, and

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 ...

. There is a public dock used for launching boats on the eastern shore of the lake. The ''Silver Lake Recreation Area'' is a park for people of all ages, and is located northeast of the lake. ''Holiday Park Campground'' is a large private campground on the southern end of the lake, just off of

US 31 U.S. Route 31 or U.S. Highway 31 (US 31) is a major north–south U.S. highway connecting southern Alabama to northern Michigan. Its southern terminus is at an intersection with US 90/ US 98 in Spanish Fort, Alabama. Its ...

. It has boat access and has RV camping lots surrounding the lake. Annually, there are

regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

s and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

competitions on the lake. The lake is popular in winter with ice fishers.

References

External links

Silver Lake from above

Holiday Park Campground Website
{{authority control Lakes of Michigan Lakes of Grand Traverse County, Michigan

History

Recreation

See also

References

External links