Lower Crooked Lake connects to Upper Crooked Lake as part of a small chain in Prairieville Township, Barry County. Both lakes have township park access along their shores.
Is there a public boat launch on Lower Crooked Lake?
How much does it cost to launch a boat on Lower Crooked Lake?
Where is Lower Crooked Lake in Michigan?
Can you swim at Lower Crooked Lake?
Are there campgrounds near Lower Crooked Lake?
What fish are in Lower Crooked Lake?
Is Lower Crooked Lake connected to Upper Crooked Lake?
Is the boat launch on Lower Crooked Lake busy?
Are there really muskie in Lower Crooked Lake?
Lower Crooked Lake is the wilder half of a 1,150-acre system split by the Parker Road causeway in Barry County's Prairieville Township — 417 acres that top out around just twelve feet deep, which shapes everything about the lake: it's weedy, structured, warms early, and fishes far bigger than its traffic suggests. Locals describe it as "a gem" for wildlife viewing, and the science community agrees the place is interesting — Michigan State's nearby Kellogg Biological Station has monitored its water levels continuously since 1996, tracking how the weir at the Parker Road causeway governs the exchange with Upper Crooked.
The fishery is the quiet headline: Lower Crooked holds muskie — genuine, in twelve feet of water — alongside a bass population anglers describe as well-structured with three-to-five-pound fish ordinary and bigger ones in play, plus bluegill in overrun numbers and yellow perch. Shallow, weedy muskie water this accessible is rare in southwest Michigan, and the low pressure keeps it honest.
Access is the township launch at Prairieville Township's Lower Crooked Lake Park — $7 fee, limited parking, modest dock, and enforcement that reviewers confirm is real (pay before launching; tickets run $100). Crooked Lake Campground and RV Park sits at the lake's southwest end with solid marks for clean and quiet, and township parks on both lakes add beach access. This isn't a destination for big-water cruising — it's a neighborhood lake that happens to hide one of the area's more interesting fisheries.