Every Lake
Skilak Lake
A 19-mile gravel loop reaches the shore; no highway ever touches the water directly.
- 37 ft · first step
- 74 ft
- 111 ft
- 148 ft
- 185 ft
- 222 ft · bottom
About Skilak Lake
Skilak Lake sits inside the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula, at the base of the Harding Icefield's eastern drainage. Glacial meltwater and rock flour carried down by the Skilak Glacier give the water a turquoise-gray cast that shifts with the season's melt. The Kenai River flows into the lake from Kenai Lake upstream and exits at the lake's western end, continuing toward Cook Inlet. At roughly 24,386 acres with a modeled maximum depth near 222 feet, Skilak ranks among the larger lakes on the peninsula, carved by the same glacial retreat that shaped the surrounding refuge terrain.
The lake lies inside the refuge established in 1941 as the Kenai National Moose Range, later renamed and expanded under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in 1980. No highway touches the main shoreline directly; access runs along the gravel Skilak Lake Road, a roughly 19-mile loop off the Sterling Highway connecting Sportsman's Landing and Lower Skilak Lake campgrounds. Rafters and drift boaters put in above the lake to float the Kenai River's middle canyon, then cross Skilak itself, where sockeye and rainbow trout draw anglers each summer. The lake is known among boaters for sudden high winds that raise dangerous chop with little warning.
- 6 roads engraved around the shore, 1 of them labeled
- 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.
Skilak Lake depth chart, in wood
This is a Skilak Lake depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 37 ft, 74 ft, 111 ft, 148 ft, 185 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 222 ft. The lake covers about 39.0 square miles, and 6 shore roads are engraved around it. The shape of the bottom is the real one from published soundings, so anglers recognise their drop-offs and points.
A Skilak 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 Skilak 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 Skilak Lake.
Skilak 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 Skilak Lake; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Skilak 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 222 ft
- 39.0 square miles of water
- 6 shore roads engraved, 1 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
