Ballard Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Ballard Lake pulls an A: clarity at 49.2 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.

A TSI value of 32 puts Ballard Lake in the oligotrophic range, where biological productivity stays low and the water column remains clear. 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 202 graded waters, Ballard Lake sits at rank 12, 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.