Isabella County treasures its lakes and streams as valuable assets. There are 45 named lakes in the county and portions of 4 river systems. The major natural lakes are Coldwater, Littlefield and Stevenson which are all found in the north or northwestern portion of the county. The largest of the man made lakes is Lake Isabella developed along the Chippewa River. The Village of Lake Isabella surrounds the Lake. Several other smaller man made lakes that are recreation centers are scattered about the county and include Lake of the Hills and Camelot Lake.
The major river system in the county is the Chippewa and its tributaries. Upstream from Mt Pleasant it drains 485 square miles including portions of Mecosta, Osceola and Clare Counties. It use to be home to trout but when the dam at Lake Isabella was constructed the waters warmed enough to limit the trout fishing to several of the tributaries of the Chippewa. Other river systems in the county include the Pine River (one of 5 in the State) which drains the southwestern portion of the county and the Salt River which drains much of the northeastern section.
Coldwater Lake is the largest natural lake in Isabella County. It was formed in a small glacial meltwater river when several large ice blocks were left behind by the retreating glacier and the melt water deposited material around the ice. When the ice melted their was nothing to fill the void but water. The Coldwater River flows through the lake from the north and eventually joins the Chippewa River to the south. Coldwater Lake is a relatively deep lake with the maximum depth of 65 feet near the eastern end. The lake is deep enough to limit aquatic plant growth to the areas immediately adjacent to the shoreline. Lake surface area is about 298 acres and the shoreline is about 3.5 miles. Most the lake shore is developed except along the north shore where the Coldwater River has deposited a delta and much of the area is low and marshy. Most of the land use in the immediate watershed is agriculture. As you will note in the above image, residential development almost surrounds the lake.
Littlefield Lake is of moderate size and was formed again by ice blocks left behind by the glacier. The islands and shallow spots in the lake mark the borders between ice blocks. It has a rather convoluted shoreline and several canals have been developed for more waterfront lot development. It is also a relatively deep lake with a maximum depth of 66 feet just northwest of the southern island. There are a number of isolated spots with depths over 50 feet. This body of water forms the Coldwater River which drops almost 50 feet from here to Coldwater Lake downstream. As you look at the lake image above you will note that there are extensive areas undeveloped and this is because of the mucky soils and wet areas along the lake shore. So pockets of development are concentrated on the south shore with spots on the north shore. The lake has a surface area of about 185 acres and a shoreline of a bit over 4 miles. Lake elevation has been set at 912 feet. The immediate watershed is largely undeveloped land.
Stevenson Lake, a relatively shallow lake, was formed by a lack of glacial deposits in this locale for some unknown reason. The surface area is about 130 acres and there are several spots over 30 feet in depth with a maximum of 47 feet near the west end. On the whole the lake is much shallower than either Littlefield or Coldwater. Stevenson Lake has an irregular shoreline and marginal soils for development around the lake. Much of the east and west ends are undeveloped. An extensive canal system has been constructed for waterfront lot development. Most of the land use in the immediate watershed is agricultural.
Other small natural lakes include Hall's Lake and Windoga Lake.
Lake Isabella is the largest man made Lake in the County and was formed by blocking the flow of the Chippewa River. It is easy to see the dam location by the long straight line at the north east end of the lake. It is a very shallow lake and aquatic growth in the lake was a problem for a long time but is now under control. Small areas of the lake near the dam are deeper than 20 feet and the average depth is about 5 or 6 feet. With the riverine nature the water is rapidly flushed from the lake by the river system. The shoreline is over 16 miles in length and has substantial lake shore development. Most of the immediate watershed is undeveloped or wooded away from the Village of Lake Isabella. The lake elevation is set at 892 feet.