Crane Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Crane Lake pulls an A: clarity at 22.1 ft and 22 µg/L of phosphorus put it in the top bracket for 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.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Wisconsin lakes fall. The lake bottoms out at 25 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. Crane Lake covers 355 acres alongside partial shoreline records — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Crane Lake sits at rank 26 of 35 in Forest County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

Eurasian watermilfoil is established at Crane Lake, which can dampen recreational access and pressure the native plant community. Walleye are documented at Crane 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. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.