THREE LAKES, KALAMAZOO COUNTY

Three Lakes lies between Richland and Galesburg on 35th Street, between FG Avenue and EF Avenue. The individual lakes that comprise Three Lakes are not formally named. For convenience, I will refer to them as East Lake, Middle Lake, and West Lake. Obviously, I named them for their geographical position. Three Lakes lies within the Gull Creek watershed, part of the Kalamazoo River watershed.

EAST LAKE

A small parking area on the east side of 35th Street provides access to East Lake. Water flows from Middle Lake to East Lake through a small culvert next to the access.

The shoreline on East Lake is undeveloped. No homes are visible from the lake.

There is a gently winding scenic bayou on the southeast corner of the lake.

Gull creek flows out of East Lake at the end of the bayou.

Gull Creek flows into the northeast corner of East Lake. The creek flows through an area of cattail marsh that is interesting to explore.

MIDDLE LAKE

Middle Lake is the largest lake of the Three Lakes chain. Access and parking are on the west side of 35th Street, on the wide shoulder of the road. There are only a couple homes on the lake, leaving plenty of undeveloped shoreline for paddlers to explore.

There is a small, shallow, unnamed creek that flows into the northwest corner of Middle Lake. It’s only navigable for a couple hundred feet, but it’s still fun to explore.

The mouth of the creek that provides access to West Lake is on the west end of Middle Lake.

WEST LAKE

West Lake is my favorite lake of the Three lakes chain because of its wild, remote location. The unnamed creek that takes kayakers from Middle Lake to West Lake meanders through a cattail marsh lined by woods. There was a beaver dam on the creek that had to be portaged. At the time of this writing, in early June 2022, the dam had been removed. Sometimes beavers will rebuild structures. Portaging beaver dams can be a challenge.

Due to the beaver dam removal, the water level on West Lake has dropped significantly, but it’s still a pleasure to paddle.

A small, unnamed creek flows into West Lake. It’s fun to explore, but I found it difficult to paddle due to shallow water, mud, and old beaver dams. It was easier to paddle the creek when the beaver dam in the channel was still in place. It’s still worth checking out.

Three Lakes is one of the best kayaking destinations in Kalamazoo County. Once you visit its scenic waters, I know you’ll agree!

I revisited the Three lakes chain in July of 2025. Beavers had bulit two dams on the creek between the middle lake and the west lake. Someone had removed a small part of each dam, but the two dams had to be portaged.

At the time of this latest visit, water levels had changed due to the beaver dams. The middle lake was lower and the west lake was higher. I was unable to paddle some of the small streams that flow into the middle lake.