Big Arbor Vitae Lake vs Boulder Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Big Arbor Vitae Lake and Boulder Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of B (Good). 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 grade differences here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies grading them. The grades are close: Big Arbor Vitae Lake (B) and Boulder Lake (B) are within one letter of each other on the LakeGrade rubric. The per-parameter sub-grades below will show where the small differences actually live.
With grades 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B (Good) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 6 ft | 5.6 ft |
| Phosphorus | 24.1 µg/L | 21.6 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 41 ft | 23 ft |
| Surface Area | 1,070 acres | 516 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 4 | 6 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
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.