Every Lake
Highland Lake
A short drive from Max Yasgur's farm, in Sullivan County's old bungalow-colony country.
- 7 ft · first step
- 14 ft
- 21 ft
- 29 ft
- 36 ft
- 43 ft · bottom
About Highland Lake
Highland Lake sits in the town of Forestburgh, Sullivan County, New York, in the Catskills region near the Pennsylvania border. The lake covers about 190 acres with roughly three miles of shoreline and a maximum depth near 43 feet. Scranton, Pennsylvania lies about 40 miles southwest. The surrounding hills were logged and farmed through the 1800s before summer visitors began arriving by rail. Small hotels and boarding houses appeared around the lake by the early 1900s, drawing guests from New York City.
Sullivan County became known through the mid-1900s as the Borscht Belt, a cluster of Jewish resorts and bungalow colonies that stretched across the Catskills. Highland Lake had its share of small hotels and family-run colonies, part of that wider circuit. A few miles away, the hamlet of Bethel hosted the Woodstock festival in August 1969 on Max Yasgur's dairy farm. As the big resorts declined later in the century, many properties around the lake converted to private and seasonal homes, and that pattern continues today.
- 11 roads engraved around the shore, 4 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.
Highland Lake depth chart, in wood
This is a Highland Lake depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour. The lake covers about 0.3 square miles, and 11 shore roads are engraved around it. The shape of the bottom comes from a peer-reviewed bathymetry model of the lake.
A Highland 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 Highland 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 Highland Lake.
Highland 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 Highland Lake; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes — from GLOBathy, a peer-reviewed bathymetry dataset that estimates the bottom of every lake from its shoreline and surrounding terrain. Each layer of birch is a depth contour. Where a lake has a published sounding survey we use that instead, and we are adding surveys lake by lake.
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
- 0.3 square miles of water
- 11 shore roads engraved, 4 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
Keep reading
Guides from the people who cut these maps.
- Gifts for Fishermen Who Already Own Every LureUnique fishing gifts for the angler who has everything: a layered wood depth map of the lake they fish, with the structure they know by heart.
- Lake House Gifts That Actually Mean SomethingThoughtful lake house gifts and cabin gift ideas for Christmas: what lake people actually keep, how to choose a size, and how to word a personal line.
- Deepest Lakes in Michigan: Surveyed Depths and What Lies BelowWhich inland lakes in Michigan run deepest? Surveyed depths for Crystal, Mullett, Glen, Charlevoix and more, and how depth shapes color, fish and ice.
