Bear Lake

Bear Lake sits at the top of the Wisconsin DNR grading rubric with an A, a mark reached by the cleanest lakes in Wisconsin. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

The lake's low TSI puts it in oligotrophic territory — the cleanest of the four trophic classes, but also the most vulnerable to nutrient-driven shifts. At only 10 ft deep, Bear Lake is shallow — wind keeps the water column mixed and sediment resuspension drives phosphorus levels harder to manage. At 49 acres, Bear Lake sits below the Wisconsin median: a small water where shoreline activity has an outsized effect on water quality. Bear Lake ranks 2 of 40 in Douglas County, putting it in the upper tier of locally monitored lakes.

Bear Lake has no invasive species recorded in Wisconsin state databases as of 2023, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. Walleye are documented at Bear Lake, one of 5 fish species on record for the lake. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.