Elk Lake · MI
Live wind, gusts, and gage height for small-craft sailing at Elk Lake (Elk Lake near Elk Rapids).
Wind — next 48 hours
shaded band: ideal 6–16 ktHour by hour
scored 0–10 for cruising dinghyBest sailing windows
7-day outlook
Daily number = average daylight (7am–7pm) score, 0–10, for the cruising dinghy profile. Full hourly forecast →
Elk Lake wind forecast
Hourly wind, gusts, and direction for the next 7 days with a small-craft sailing score for every hour — find the window, then rig for it.
How the score works. Every hour gets 0–10 points: full marks for sustained wind between 6 and 16 knots, with deductions for gust factors above 1.5× sustained wind, high rain probability (thunderstorm risk), and cold air that raises capsize stakes.
Lake wind is local. Thermal builds on sunny afternoons, katabatic draining at dusk, and channeling between hills all mean the modeled numbers can run a few knots either side of what you feel on the water — treat this as a planning tool, not a gospel.
Elk Lake water level
Gage height recorded at USGS gauge 445256085240001, refreshed every 15 minutes to 1 hour depending on the sensor.
Gage height history
Gage height · USGS gauge 445256085240001
Reading the chart. This gauge reports gage height — the depth of water above the sensor reference point, not absolute elevation. Trends matter more than the absolute number: a falling trend means shrinking launch depth.
Water levels respond to dam operations, irrigation drawdown, snowmelt, and recent rainfall. For launch decisions, combine the trend here with the wind forecast — low water plus strong wind makes steep, tired ramps.
Elk Lake fishing
Solunar feeding windows and live water temperature from the USGS gauge, plus hour-by-hour fish activity for the next two days.
Water temperature
Solunar feeding times
Best fishing windows — next 48 hours
Combines temperature comfort, solunar majors/minors, dawn & dusk, ripple-friendly wind, and storm risk.
What’s biting at this temperature
Stocking reports are published by each state’s fish & wildlife agency — look up Michigan’s latest ↗.
Elk Lake map & radar
Live rain radar over the lake and its shoreline, plus every mapped launch ramp, marina, and sailing club in the area.
Launch ramps & marinas nearby
From OpenStreetMap · within ~8 miles of the gauge
Reading the radar
- Blue→green→yellow→red = light → heavy precipitation. Green already means small-craft weather is building; red means get off the water.
- Drag the slider past “now” for RainViewer’s nowcast — a 30-minute radar extrapolation, handy for timing a last reach before the cell arrives.
- Radar is precipitation only: it will not show the clear-air gust fronts that precede thunderstorms. Combine with the hourly forecast rain-probability column.
About this lake
- Location
- 44.8453°, -85.3926°
- Gauge datum
- 586 ft
- USGS gauge
- 445256085240001
- Water temp sensor
- No
Water level data comes from the USGS gauge above; wind is modeled for the lake’s coordinates by Open-Meteo. Always confirm conditions locally before launching — mountain lakes in particular can build afternoon winds fast.