Boulder Lake vs Irving Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Irving Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Boulder Lake. Both are in Vilas County, Wisconsin.
Both Boulder Lake and Irving 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: Boulder Lake and Irving 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.
Boulder Lake
Murky, only visible to about 5.6 ft.
Irving Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11.3 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Boulder Lake | Irving Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 5.6 ft | 11.3 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 21.6 µg/L | 18.6 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 23 ft Better | 8 ft |
| Surface Area | 516 acres | 419 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 6 Better | 4 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | 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
Boulder Lake and Irving Lake read the same on nutrients and algae overall. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Boulder Lake: 5.6 ft, Irving Lake: 11.3 ft) and what you want from the lake. Boulder Lake supports more documented fish species.
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Where to stay near Boulder Lake and Irving Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.