Mud Hen Lake vs Wood Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Mud Hen Lake and Wood Lake read the same on nutrients and algae. Both are in Burnett County, Wisconsin.
Mud Hen Lake and Wood 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. The readings are close: Mud Hen Lake and Wood 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.
Mud Hen Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11 ft.
Wood Lake
Murky, only visible to about 5.5 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Mud Hen Lake | Wood Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 11 ft Better | 5.5 ft |
| Phosphorus | 15.8 µg/L Better | 22.6 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 66 ft Better | 35 ft |
| Surface Area | 569 acres | 521 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 3 | 3 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | 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 Mud Hen Lake or Wood Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade B. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Mud Hen Lake: 11 ft, Wood Lake: 5.5 ft) and what you want from the lake. Mud Hen Lake matches its peer on species count.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.