Every Lake
Nancy Lake
One of more than 130 lakes threaded by canoe portages in Nancy Lake State Recreation Area.
- 9 ft · first step
- 18 ft
- 26 ft
- 35 ft
- 44 ft
- 53 ft · bottom
About Nancy Lake
Nancy Lake sits inside the Nancy Lake State Recreation Area in Alaska's Matanuska-Susitna Valley, between the communities of Wasilla and Willow along the Parks Highway. The recreation area protects a cluster of glacially formed lakes linked by short portage trails, and Nancy Lake itself is one of the larger, most accessible bodies of water in that chain. Public-use cabins, a campground, and a canoe rental concession sit along its shore, and the lake serves as the launch point for the Lynx Lake Loop, a canoe route that threads together dozens of smaller lakes to the north.
Wasilla lies roughly fifteen miles south along the Parks Highway, and Willow, a small unincorporated community, sits just to the north; both feed canoeists, anglers, and floatplane traffic into the lake system. Nancy Lake covers about 761 acres, modest next to the larger lakes of the Mat-Su Valley, but its shoreline runs some fifteen miles, folded into coves and points that give it more edge than its acreage suggests. Modeled depth runs to about 53 feet, shallow like most of the glacially scoured lakes across the Susitna lowlands, and the lake holds rainbow trout and landlocked salmon.
- 6 depth layers, each step engraved with its depth in feet
- Compass rose, title block with coordinates, max depth and area; keyhole hanger on the back
Turn it in your hands
Live 3D of the actual cut files — drag to orbit, pinch to zoom. Every road you see is engraved on the real thing.
Viewer not showing? Open it full screen.
Nancy Lake depth chart, in wood
This is a Nancy Lake depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 9 ft, 18 ft, 26 ft, 35 ft, 44 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 53 ft. The lake covers about 1.3 square miles. The shape of the bottom is the real one from published soundings, so anglers recognise their drop-offs and points.
A Nancy Lake map for the wall — or a gift
Most of these go to a cabin wall, a lake house entry, or a home office; a lot are gifts — the family that has been on Nancy Lake for three generations, the retirement move, the first boat. The 12-inch is the desk-and-shelf size; the 24- and 30-inch boards read across a room. Add a line under the title and star your place on the shore, and it becomes the map of your Nancy Lake.
Nancy Lake map — the details
How big is the map?
Four sizes: 12, 17, 24 and 30 inches on the long side, from $149. Every size is cut from the same depth data of Nancy Lake; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Nancy Lake is cut layer by layer from published bathymetric soundings — each layer of birch is a depth contour, so the shape of the bottom is the real one, not decorative.
Can I add my own place on it?
Yes. At checkout you can add a line under the title (a family name, a cabin name, a year) and star the spot on the shore that matters to you.
How long does it take?
Made to order in Waterford, Pennsylvania and shipped in 7–10 days; shipping is free in the lower 48.
Can you make a lake that isn't listed?
Any lake in the United States — we hold depth data for 104,419 of them. Search for yours; if it isn't built yet we build it when you order.
- 6 depth layers down to 53 ft
- 1.3 square miles of water
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
