Bankson Lake

Bankson Lake is a 217-acre all-sports lake located in Van Buren County, just south of Lawton, Michigan. The lake is unique in that it has rather undeveloped shores and is home to two large camps - the Miracle Camp and Retreat Center and the Girl Scouts. Miracle Camp and Retreat Center has existed on the lake since 1965 and provides summer camps, weekend retreats, winter retreats, and other Christian camping for more than 12,000 people each year.Bankson Lake has a depth of up to 42 feet and is well stocked with sport fish, including walleye and Muskies. There is a good population of native purebred Muskies as well. It has been one of Southwest Michigan's premier source lakes for Female musky eggs, which are then crossed with northern pike milt to produce hybrid Tiger Muskies.

As with other spring-fed lakes in the area, its depth is water-table dependent. It has had historical lows in the late 1940s that left a sandbar toward the eastern end completely dry.