Cranberry Lake

Cranberry Lake comes in at a B on the grading rubric — a respectable showing for a Wisconsin lake of its size and depth. The lake's weakest score is on Secchi depth — the water looks more turbid than its phosphorus number alone would predict.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Wisconsin lakes fall. The lake bottoms out at 26 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. At 66 acres, Cranberry Lake sits below the Wisconsin median: a small water where shoreline activity has an outsized effect on water quality. Among the 57 graded lakes in Burnett County, Cranberry Lake sits at rank 21, above the county median.

Cranberry Lake has no invasive species recorded in Wisconsin state databases as of 2025, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The fishery includes walleye among the lake's 4 documented species — a notable draw for Wisconsin anglers. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.