Bear Lake
Bayfield County, WisconsinView mapDirections
Wisconsin DNR publishes the water-quality measurements for Bear Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 31 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Bear Lake in Bayfield County, Wisconsin has water-quality measurements published by Wisconsin DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 48.6 µg/L.
Bear Lake is a productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Bayfield County, Wisconsin with an estimated average depth of about 31 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available. Compared to the 23 other monitored lakes in Bayfield County, Bear Lake ranks #24 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Wisconsin DNR Surface Water, last sampled 2025-09-09. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Bear 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 Bear Lake
These are the measurements Wisconsin DNR publishes for Bear Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 2 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 48.6 µg/L. TSI 64.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 48.6µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| 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. | 64 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Bear Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~31 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 Bear Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
35 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
0.9 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.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Bear Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Bear Lake in Bayfield County, Wisconsin — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Bear Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Bear Lake
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Fishing Bear Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2022–2025). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+12.73 µg/L/yr2 years
Nearby Lakes in Bayfield County
Frequently asked questions about Bear Lake
Where is Bear Lake?
- Bear Lake is a lake in Bayfield County, Wisconsin. Its water-quality measurements are published by Wisconsin DNR and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Bear Lake?
- Bear Lake in Bayfield County, Wisconsin has water-quality measurements published by Wisconsin DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 48.6 µg/L.
Is Bear Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Bear Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Bear Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 31 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Can I fish at Bear Lake?
- Public access to Bear Lake is listed as yes on the lake record. 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 Bear Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
6 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
WIDNR_WQX6 samples · 2025
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)