Church Pine Lake

Church Pine Lake sits at the top of the Wisconsin DNR grading rubric with an A, a mark reached by the cleanest lakes in 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.

Trophically, Church Pine Lake reads as oligotrophic — nutrient-poor, clear, and ecologically more sensitive to disturbance than richer lakes. A maximum depth of 45 ft puts Church Pine Lake in the middle of Wisconsin's depth distribution. At 87 acres, Church Pine Lake sits below the Wisconsin median: a small water where shoreline activity has an outsized effect on water quality. Church Pine Lake ranks 11 of 77 in Polk County, putting it in the upper tier of locally monitored lakes.

Church Pine 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 Church Pine Lake, one of 4 fish species on record for the lake. A documented public access point at Church Pine 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.