Big Arbor Vitae Lake vs Boulder Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Big Arbor Vitae Lake and Boulder Lake read the same on nutrients and algae. Both are in Vilas County, Wisconsin.
Both Big Arbor Vitae Lake and Boulder Lake sit in Wisconsin. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any differences in the readings here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies sampling them. The readings are close: Big Arbor Vitae Lake and Boulder Lake sit within a narrow band of each other on phosphorus, chlorophyll-a and clarity. The per-parameter table below shows where the small differences actually live.
With readings this close, the choice between the two lakes turns on non-water-quality factors: depth, fish species, public access, distance from home. The per-lake pages below cover all of those.
Big Arbor Vitae Lake
Murky, only visible to about 6 ft.
Boulder Lake
Murky, only visible to about 5.6 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Big Arbor Vitae Lake | Boulder Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 6 ft Better | 5.6 ft |
| Phosphorus | 24.1 µg/L | 21.6 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 41 ft Better | 23 ft |
| Surface Area | 1,070 acres | 516 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 4 | 6 Better |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | eutrophic |
A green ✓ marks the better value for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better). Surface area and trophic state carry no tick — a bigger lake is not a better lake.
Swap a lake
Compare Big Arbor Vitae Lake or Boulder Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade B. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Big Arbor Vitae Lake: 6 ft, Boulder Lake: 5.6 ft) and what you want from the lake. Big Arbor Vitae Lake has fewer fish species than Boulder Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.