Buffalo Lake

Buffalo Lake earns an A — water clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate among the best monitored waters in Oneida County. 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.

Trophically, Buffalo Lake reads as oligotrophic — nutrient-poor, clear, and ecologically more sensitive to disturbance than richer lakes. Buffalo Lake reaches 27 ft at its deepest point — typical for Wisconsin mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. At 105 acres, Buffalo Lake fits the Wisconsin median for monitored lakes, with partial shoreline records. Within Oneida County's 140 graded waters, Buffalo Lake sits at rank 12, near the top of the local distribution.

Buffalo Lake has at least one documented invasive species (Chinese Mystery Snail), so boaters and anglers should observe clean-drain-dry steps when leaving the lake. Walleye are documented at Buffalo Lake, one of 4 fish species on record for the lake. Public access is available — the lake is on the Wisconsin DNR public-access list. 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.