Spring Lake is a drowned river mouth lake at the lower end of the Grand River, the longest river in Michigan. It formed as a result of fluctuating water levels in the glacial Great Lakes, and its level still rises and falls with Lake Michigan. The lake's outlet joins the Grand River near Grand Haven, where the combined waters reach Lake Michigan through the Grand Haven channel — putting Spring Lake on a fully navigable corridor where boaters can run downstream to Lake Michigan or upstream into the Grand River system directly from the lake's launches. The lake wraps around the north and east sides of the village of Spring Lake and the city of Ferrysburg, immediately northeast of Grand Haven.
Spring Lake develops ice in winter, but areas near the Grand River connection and the Grand Haven channel can have current and freeze later or less reliably. As with any Michigan lake, no ice is guaranteed safe — check local conditions before going out.