Narada Lake

Narada Lake from the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail

NPS Photo/ K. Maisano

Quick Facts

Location:

44.93328 N 85.90546 W

Amenities

5 listed

Audio Description, Benches/Seating, Canoe/Kayak/Small Boat Launch, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Wheelchair Accessible

This is a picturesque lake full of trees and stumps visible from M-22 about 5 miles north of Glen Arbor. The lake is easily seen by walking the heritage trail boardwalk.

The lake is closed to power-driven vessels from April 1 through October 31 and is limited to two-horsepower motors the rest of the year. There is a narrow trail through a tunnel of trees to a little canoe launch area. The lake is closed to all visitors during loon nesting. 

There are many fallen trees on the west shore of the lake where there used to be an access road near the North Unity School. You can walk there and see the pointed stumps and conical log ends that are left by the beaver. If you've never seen the power of a beaver, this is worth the stop. You can even see tree trunks with rows of big tooth marks left by beaver where they gnawed the bark off the trees the way we eat corn on the cob. Because Narada Lake is so full of stumps and appears to have no open shoreline, it is mainly of interest to nature lovers, fishermen, and artists. 

Fish present in the lake include brown bullhead, largemouth bass, northern pike, rock bass, yellow perch, bluegill, pumpkinseed, and central mudminnow.