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LakeQuality

Forest Lake vs White Sand Lake Deep

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

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

Both Forest 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. The grades are close: Forest Lake (A) and White Sand Lake Deep (A) are within one letter of each other on the LakeGrade rubric. The per-parameter sub-grades below will show where the small differences actually live.

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

Forest Lake

Vilas County, Wisconsin

Crystal clear, you can see 23 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.

MetricForest LakeWhite Sand Lake Deep
Overall GradeA (Excellent)A (Excellent)
Water Clarity23 ft18 ft
PhosphorusNo dataNo data
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No dataNo data
Maximum Depth60 ft63 ft
Surface Area468 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 (Forest Lake: 23 ft, White Sand Lake Deep: 18 ft) and what you want from the lake. Forest Lake matches its peer on species count.