Hayes Township Lakes

Hayes Township Lakes

Inland Lakes in Hayes Township

  1. Cranberry Lake
  2. Deer Lake
  3. Sutherland Lake

Lakes shared with other local government units

  1. Arnold Lake (Hayes Township and Frost Township)
  2. Budd Lake (Hayes Township and City of Harrison)
  3. Little Long Lake (Hayes Township and City of Harrison)
  4. Townline Lake (Hayes Township and Hamilton Township)

Public Access Sites

Public Access Boat Launches:

Other Public Access Lakes in Clare County: https://www.clarecountyrecreation.org/maps/LakeAccess_Main.pdf

Public Parks at Lakes:

  • Budd Lake
  • Other Lakes: Little Long Lake and Sutherland Lake have public walkways; all other parks and beaches on lakes in the township are private – except for DNR boat access sites which require a valid tag.

Special Local Watercraft Controls

https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/laws/controls/localcontrols/clare/watercraft

Orders exist for the following lakes, and may include high speed, no wake, towing, hours, boundaries of order

  1. Arnold Lake
  2. Budd Lake
  3. Little Long Lake
  4. Cranberry Lake
  5. Townline Lake
  6. Townline Lake Channels and Canals

Watercraft Control Orders do not exist for the following lakes

  1. Deer Lake
  2. Sutherland Lake

Lake Improvement Boards:

Lake Improvement Boards exist for the following lakes created under Part 309, Act 451 of 1994 – Inland Lake Improvement:

  1. Budd Lake
  2. Cranberry Lake
  3. Little Long Lake
  4. Sutherland Lake
  5. Townline Lake

Part 309 is administered by the Clare County Drain Commissioner: https://clareco.net/department/drain-commissioner/

A Lake Improvement Board under the authority of the Drain Commissioner does not exist for Deer Lake or Arnold Lake.

Lakes Improvement Boards typically deal with issues related to weed control. Lake improvement boards also can arrange for fish stocking, removal of fallen trees, muck control, and dredging. Lake improvements are paid through an assessment to benefiting property through a special assessment district.

Lake Improvement Boards created under Part 309 are governed by a board composed of the drain commissioner, a county commissioner in whose district the lake is located, a waterfront representative who is chosen by the lake board, and two township-appointed members (if the lake crosses a local government boundary, each local unit appoints one member). The Hayes township member is always a member of the Hayes Township board; if the township has a second representative, the township may consider a member of a lake-wide association but is not obligated to make such a selection. For lakes without a lake-wide association, the township board will make the selection. Terms of township-appointed members coincide with the terms of the Hayes Township Board.

In addition to the Lake Improvements above, weed control on Arnold Lake is accomplished through a special assessment district on Arnold Lake, created under PA 188 of 1954 by the Townships of Hayes and Frost. For information on the weed control special assessment district on Arnold Lake, please contact your township (Hayes or Frost).

Lake Levels

Court-mandated Lake Levels exist for the following lakes:

  1. Arnold Lake (Part 307, Act 451 of 1994 – Inland Lake Levels)
  2. Cranberry Lake (Part 307, Act 451 of 1994 – Inland Lake Levels)
  3. Little Long Lake (Part 307, Act 451 of 1994 – Inland Lake Levels)
  4. Sutherland Lake (Part 307, Act 451 of 1994 – Inland Lake Levels)
  5. Townline Lake (Part 307, Act 451 of 1994 – Inland Lake Levels), as part of the Dodge Chain of Lakes

Court-Mandated Lake Levels do not exist on the following lakes

  1. Budd Lake
  2. Deer Lake

Lake Levels in Hayes Township are controlled by Water Control Structures, and each lake with a court-mandated lake level has a corresponding special assessment district that pays for the costs of inspection and maintenance of the water control structure. The Clare County Board of Commissioners has delegated oversight of lake levels in Clare County to the Clare County Drain Commissioner.

Part 307 is administered by the Clare County Drain Commissioner: https://clareco.net/department/drain-commissioner/

Inflows and Outflows

Budd Lake does not have an outflow and is fed by natural runoff.

Deer Lake is fed by natural runoff and has no outlet

Arnold Lake is fed by natural runoff and one county drain (Lakepoint #1); it drains into Cranberry Lake through a water control Structure at Overhill Drive; In addition, three county drains flow into Cranberry Lake (Rogers Drain, Lakepoint #2, Lakepoint #4). Cranberry Lake drains into Cranberry Creek through a water control structure on Hayes Street. Cranberry eventually joins the Middle Branch of the Cedar River – a tributary of the Tittabawassee River.

Little Long Lake drains into Sutherland Lake through a water control at Ridge Road; Sutherland Lake drains into Jose Creek at Starr Road. Little Long and Sutherland are fed by springs and natural runoff.

A water control structure at the south end of Sand Lake maintains the level of the interconnected lakes of Dodge City (Townline, Lake No. 5, Lost Lake, Ice House, Boat House, Haven, and Sand); Dodge Lake’s level is maintained by a water control device from those lakes. The outflow from Sand Lake is Mostellar Creek. The Dodge Chain of Lakes is fed by natural runoff, a spring NW of Townline Lake, two creeks entering Townline Lake on the northern portion of the lake, in Hamilton Township just across the border from Hayes. The Dodge Chain of Lakes originally were separate lakes. In 1927, the Capitol Land Corporation bought 746 acres of land in Section 019, Hamilton Township, and part of Section 024, Hayes Township, to form Northwoods Outing Club and it deepened and widened rivers/streams connecting the lakes to form canoe trails between them; that project was completed in 1928.

Mostellar Creek joins Jose Creek join in Hatton Township, and Beaver Creek joins with them to form the North Branch of the Tobacco River, a tributary of the Tittabawassee River

Lake Depth Maps