Boulder Lake vs Lost Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Boulder Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Lost Lake. Both are in Vilas County, Wisconsin.
Both Boulder Lake and Lost 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 Lost 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.
Lost Lake
Murky, only visible to about 4.5 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Boulder Lake | Lost Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 5.6 ft Better | 4.5 ft |
| Phosphorus | 21.6 µg/L Better | 34.5 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 23 ft Better | 20 ft |
| Surface Area | 516 acres | 539 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 6 Better | 5 |
| 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 Boulder Lake or Lost Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Boulder Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Lost Lake. Water clarity: 5.6 ft vs 4.5 ft. For fishing diversity, Boulder Lake also leads with 6 species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.