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LakeQuality

Black Oak Lake vs White Sand Lake Deep

Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.

Black Oak Lake and White Sand Lake Deep both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Vilas County, Wisconsin.

Both Black Oak Lake and White Sand Lake Deep 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Black Oak Lake (A) versus White Sand Lake Deep (A). The deciding factors for a recreational visitor are likely physical (depth, access, fish species) rather than water-quality differences.

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.

A

Black Oak Lake

Vilas County, Wisconsin

Crystal clear, you can see 28.5 ft down.

A

White Sand Lake Deep

Vilas County, Wisconsin

Crystal clear, you can see 18 ft down.

Side-by-Side Metrics

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

MetricBlack Oak LakeWhite Sand Lake Deep
Overall GradeA (Excellent)A (Excellent)
Water Clarity28.5 ft18 ft
Phosphorus10.2 µg/LNo data
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No dataNo data
Maximum Depth85 ft63 ft
Surface Area564 acres1.2K acres
Public AccessUnknownUnknown
Fish Species00
Trophic Stateoligotrophicoligotrophic

Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).

Verdict

Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Black Oak Lake: 28.5 ft, White Sand Lake Deep: 18 ft) and what you want from the lake. Black Oak Lake matches its peer on species count.