Bone Lake vs Deer Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Deer Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Bone Lake. Both are in Polk County, Wisconsin.
Both Bone Lake and Deer 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: Bone Lake and Deer 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.
Bone Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 8 ft.
Deer Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Bone Lake | Deer Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 8 ft | 16 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 19.8 µg/L | 16.9 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 43 ft | 46 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 1,667 acres | 786 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 4 | 5 Better |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | mesotrophic |
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.
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Verdict
Bone Lake and Deer Lake read the same on nutrients and algae overall. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Bone Lake: 8 ft, Deer Lake: 16 ft) and what you want from the lake. Bone Lake has fewer fish species than Deer Lake.
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Where to stay near Bone Lake and Deer Lake
Compare cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals around Bone Lake and Deer Lake. Both lakes are pinned on the map, so you can see which stays sit nearer the one you pick. Switch to Satellite to see how close each is to the water.
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.