Boulder Lake vs Presque Isle Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Boulder Lake and Presque Isle Lake read the same on nutrients and algae. Both are in Vilas County, Wisconsin.
Boulder Lake and Presque Isle Lake are both in Wisconsin — a same-state head-to-head where the comparison comes down to lake-specific differences in depth, watershed, and monitoring history rather than the broader state-level water-quality regime. These two sit close on the readings, Boulder Lake versus Presque Isle Lake. The deciding factors for a recreational visitor are likely physical (depth, access, fish species) rather than water-quality differences.
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.
Presque Isle Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 18 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Boulder Lake | Presque Isle Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 5.6 ft | 18 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 21.6 µg/L | 10.3 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 23 ft | 103 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 516 acres | 1,165 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 6 | 6 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | oligotrophic |
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 Presque Isle Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade B. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Boulder Lake: 5.6 ft, Presque Isle Lake: 18 ft) and what you want from the lake. Boulder Lake matches its peer on species count.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.