Barrens Lake
Florence County, WisconsinView mapDirections
Wisconsin DNR publishes the water-quality measurements for Barrens Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 35 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Barrens Lake in Florence County, Wisconsin has water-quality measurements published by Wisconsin DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 13.1 ft visibility.
Barrens Lake is a lake in Florence County, Wisconsin with an estimated average depth of about 35 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Wisconsin DNR Surface Water, last sampled 2022-08-30. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Barrens Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water13.1 ft of visibility
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Barrens Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Barrens Lake
These are the measurements Wisconsin DNR publishes for Barrens Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Good clarity, visible to about 13.1 ft. TSI 40.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 13.1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 40 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Barrens Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~35 ft est.
Public access
Yes
Listed by Wisconsin DNR
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Wisconsin has not published bathymetry for Barrens Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
2,380 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
420 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
11.1 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,056 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Recreation & Access
- Menominee RiverPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Barrens Lake
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Fishing Barrens Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2021–2022). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Improving2 years
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
2 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Barrens Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 2 facilities have a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Ford/Kingsford Site GwcuKingsford · 3.9 mi away · NPDES MI0057428Recent violation
- Iron Mountain Kingsford Joint Sewage BoardFlorence · 4 mi away · NPDES WI0035807Recent violation
Facilities permitted to discharge under the Clean Water Act within ~5 miles; proximity does not by itself mean a facility affects this lake. Source: EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES), as of 2026-07.
Nearby Lakes in Florence County
Frequently asked questions about Barrens Lake
Where is Barrens Lake?
- Barrens Lake is a lake in Florence County, Wisconsin. Its water-quality measurements are published by Wisconsin DNR and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Barrens Lake?
- Barrens Lake in Florence County, Wisconsin has water-quality measurements published by Wisconsin DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 13.1 ft visibility.
Is Barrens Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Barrens Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Barrens Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 35 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Are there boat ramps on Barrens Lake?
- Barrens Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Menominee River. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Barrens Lake?
- Barrens Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Wisconsin's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Barrens Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
2 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
WIDNR_WQX2 samples · 2022
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory