Every Lake
Heidecke Lake
Built as a power plant's cooling reservoir, now the only inland lake in Illinois holding striped bass.
- 9 ft · first step
- 18 ft
- 27 ft
- 36 ft
- 45 ft
- 54 ft · bottom
About Heidecke Lake
Heidecke Lake was excavated in Grundy County in the early 1970s by Commonwealth Edison, built as a cooling reservoir for the utility's nearby power operations rather than for recreation. Water was drawn from and returned to the Kankakee and Illinois Rivers, and the finished lake sits a few miles south of Morris. Its origin as industrial infrastructure shaped its layout: a broad, open basin with few natural coves, ringed by the pumping and canal works that still define its shoreline today.
Once the lake stabilized, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources took over management and turned it into the Heidecke Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area. The warm discharge water made it suitable for a fishery uncommon in the Midwest, and the state began stocking striped bass and hybrid stripers, a program that still draws anglers from across Illinois and neighboring states. Boaters share the lake under horsepower restrictions, and the surrounding grounds are used for hunting and hiking, giving the property a mixed identity as both a utility site and a public outdoor destination.
- 25 roads engraved around the shore, 3 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.
Heidecke Lake depth chart, in wood
This is a Heidecke Lake depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 9 ft, 18 ft, 27 ft, 36 ft, 45 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 54 ft. The lake covers about 3.0 square miles, and 25 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 Heidecke 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 Heidecke 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 Heidecke Lake.
Heidecke 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 Heidecke Lake; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Heidecke 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 54 ft
- 3.0 square miles of water
- 25 shore roads engraved, 3 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
