Ballard Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Ballard Lake pulls an A: clarity at 15.0 ft and 16 µg/L of phosphorus put it in the top bracket for Wisconsin. Sub-grades cluster within a single letter of each other, which usually means the lake is in stable trophic balance rather than fighting one specific stressor.

Mesotrophic conditions dominate at Ballard Lake: enough nutrients for a healthy fishery, not so much that algal blooms become a chronic problem. A maximum depth of 25 ft puts Ballard Lake in the middle of Wisconsin's depth distribution. At 503 acres, Ballard Lake fits the Wisconsin median for monitored lakes, with partial shoreline records. Within Vilas County's 191 graded waters, Ballard Lake sits at rank 17, near the top of the local distribution.

Ballard Lake has at least one documented invasive species (Banded Mystery Snail), so boaters and anglers should observe clean-drain-dry steps when leaving the lake. The state fisheries records do not list documented species for Ballard Lake, which usually reflects a lack of formal fisheries survey work rather than an empty lake. A documented public access point at Ballard Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. Monitoring depth is thin here: the LakeGrade rubric is applied to a small number of sample years, and the grade will be revised as more data accumulates.