Best Kayaking Lakes in Wisconsin, Clean Water + Public Access

Kayaking-friendly rankings prefer lakes with low motor-boat congestion, interesting shoreline, decent water clarity, and public access. Little Round Lake tops the Wisconsin list.

Kayaking favors lakes with shoreline interest — bays, islands, undeveloped stretches — which tends to correlate with the larger, more remote Wisconsin lakes rather than the small, residential ones.

Rank	Lake	County	State	Clarity	Area	Depth
1	Little Round Lake	Sawyer	WI	17.3 ft	179 acres	38 ft
2	Osprey Lake	Sawyer	WI	16 ft	214 acres	32 ft
3	Blueberry Lake	Sawyer	WI	14.8 ft	292 acres	29 ft
4	Whitefish Lake	Sawyer	WI	13.5 ft	800 acres	105 ft
5	Sand Lake	Barron	WI	13 ft	-	~55 ft est.
6	Big Cedar Lake-North Site-Near West Bend	Washington	WI	11.8 ft	937 acres	105 ft
7	Big Sand Lake	Burnett	WI	11 ft	1,434 acres	55 ft
8	Lost Lake	Sawyer	WI	10.6 ft	51 acres	13 ft
9	Ashegon Lake	Sawyer	WI	10.5 ft	75 acres	56 ft
10	Sand Lake	Sawyer	WI	10 ft	949 acres	50 ft
11	Lake Beulah	Walworth	WI	10 ft	812 acres	58 ft
12	Powers Lake	Kenosha	WI	10 ft	451 acres	33 ft
13	Mole Lake	Forest	WI	8.5 ft	77 acres	17 ft
14	Durphee Lake	Sawyer	WI	8.1 ft	-	~47 ft est.
15	Big Lake	Shawano	WI	8 ft	-	~46 ft est.
16	Indian Lake	Sawyer	WI	6.5 ft	76 acres	9 ft
17	Gaslyn Lake	Burnett	WI	4.5 ft	161 acres	12 ft
18	Black Oak Lake	Vilas	WI	29 ft	564 acres	85 ft
19	Wheeler Lake	Oconto	WI	26 ft	281 acres	35 ft
20	Whitefish Lake	Douglas	WI	25 ft	848 acres	102 ft
21	Pine Lake	Waukesha	WI	25 ft	711 acres	85 ft
22	Lake Owen	Bayfield	WI	24.6 ft	1,250 acres	95 ft
23	Stone Lake	Washburn	WI	23 ft	490 acres	49 ft
24	Blue Lake	Oneida	WI	23 ft	441 acres	49 ft
25	Maiden Lake	Oconto	WI	23 ft	269 acres	52 ft
26	Lee Lake	Oneida	WI	22.5 ft	65 acres	44 ft
27	Forest Lake	Vilas	WI	22.2 ft	468 acres	60 ft
28	Boot Lake	Oconto	WI	21.5 ft	230 acres	38 ft
29	Long Lake	Burnett	WI	21.5 ft	222 acres	41 ft
30	Hasbrook Lake	Oneida	WI	21 ft	307 acres	50 ft
31	Carlin Lake	Vilas	WI	21 ft	155 acres	36 ft
32	Sea Lion Lake	Florence	WI	21 ft	114 acres	82 ft
33	Keyes Lake	Florence	WI	21 ft	-	~42 ft est.
34	Middle Mckenzie Lake	Burnett	WI	20 ft	527 acres	45 ft
35	Paya Lake	Oconto	WI	20 ft	105 acres	40 ft
36	Big Twin Lake	Langlade	WI	20 ft	66 acres	25 ft
37	Crystal Lake	Sheboygan	WI	20 ft	-	~60 ft est.
38	Two Sisters Lake	Oneida	WI	19.6 ft	-	~51 ft est.
39	Butternut Lake	Forest	WI	19.5 ft	1,246 acres	42 ft
40	Alva Lake	Oneida	WI	19.5 ft	199 acres	43 ft
41	Lake Buteau	Lincoln	WI	19.4 ft	51 acres	50 ft
42	Upper Kaubashine Lake	Oneida	WI	19 ft	181 acres	56 ft
43	Sand Bar Lake	Bayfield	WI	19 ft	127 acres	49 ft
44	Pearl Lake	Waushara	WI	19 ft	101 acres	45 ft
45	Des Moines Lake	Burnett	WI	18.9 ft	215 acres	37 ft
46	Lake Lucerne	Forest	WI	18.7 ft	1,039 acres	73 ft
47	Upper Eau Claire Lake	Bayfield	WI	18.7 ft	1,024 acres	92 ft
48	Big Portage Lake	Vilas	WI	18.5 ft	586 acres	40 ft
49	Middle Eau Claire Lake	Bayfield	WI	18.2 ft	880 acres	66 ft
50	Presque Isle Lake	Vilas	WI	18 ft	1,165 acres	103 ft

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Where to stay near Wisconsin kayaking lakes

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Top-rated places to stay near Wisconsin paddling lakes

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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.