Crawford Lake

Crawford Lake earns a C — middle-of-the-pack water quality, with one or two parameters dragging the average down from a stronger grade. 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.

At a TSI of 56, Crawford Lake reads as eutrophic — nutrient-rich enough that summer algal growth and reduced clarity are expected, not unusual. At only 11 ft deep, Crawford Lake is shallow — wind keeps the water column mixed and sediment resuspension drives phosphorus levels harder to manage. Crawford Lake is small — 27 acres alongside partial shoreline records — which makes it sensitive to even modest changes in watershed runoff or recreational pressure. Within the 202 graded lakes of Vilas County, Crawford Lake sits at rank 198, near the bottom of the county list.

Crawford Lake has no invasive species recorded in Wisconsin state databases as of 2022, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The lake's fish records list 1 species — a varied community without one dominant gamefish. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.