A Michigan Lake Was the Inspiration for Bob Seger's "Fire Lake"

When Bob Seger’s song “Fire Lake” was released on his Against The Wind album in 1980, it took fans a while to start asking, “Is Fire Lake a real lake in Michigan?” “Which Michigan Lake is Bob singing about?” “Where is Fire Lake?

People who dig too deep into song meanings came up with a theory that “Fire Lake” was about the Lake of Fire, as mentioned in the book of Revelations in the Bible.....Wrong.

However, many Michiganders began pointing to an actual Fire Lake, which is located in the Upper Peninsula’s Iron County.....Again, wrong.

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It took a number of years, but Bob finally revealed where his subject for the song was: it was indeed a lake in Michigan: Silver Lake.

Okay, fine and dandy, but WHICH Silver Lake? According to Wiki, there are TWENTY-FIVE Silver Lakes in Michigan not to mention a couple of Little Silver Lakes, two Upper Silver Lakes, Silvers Lake, Silver Mine Lakes, and Silver Lead Mine Lake. Trying to determine the correct one would drive anyone mental.

Where Exactly is Bob Seger's "Fire Lake"?

But in 2011, Bob revealed which Silver Lake it was: it’s the one in the Pinckney Recreation Area, lying mainly in Washtenaw County.

Near the towns of Dexter and Hell, the lake was not too far from Bob’s home town of Ann Arbor. Even though it’s not admitted, it’s highly possible Bob and his buddies would go there to have some fun. There is an island in the lake that, from satellite photos, looks like a resting horse...a good place to camp or party...or go fishing. The lake was stocked with bass, bluegills, muskie, perch, and sunfish.

For the song itself, Bob enlisted his buddies from The Eagles: Glenn Frey, Timothy B. Schmidt, and Don Henley to supply backing vocals. Bob wrote the song seven years earlier, intending it to be a track on his Beautiful Loser album, but was held back.

Scroll down to the gallery and see images of Bob’s actual “Fire Lake”...