Crystal Lake

Crystal Lake sits at the top of the Wisconsin DNR grading rubric with an A, a mark reached by the cleanest lakes in Wisconsin. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

Trophically, Crystal Lake reads as oligotrophic — nutrient-poor, clear, and ecologically more sensitive to disturbance than richer lakes. Crystal Lake reaches 29 ft at its deepest point — typical for Wisconsin mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. At 117 acres, Crystal Lake fits the Wisconsin median for monitored lakes, with partial shoreline records. Among the 55 graded lakes in Bayfield County, Crystal Lake sits at rank 21, above the county median.

An invasive species record — Chinese Mystery Snail — has been logged at Crystal Lake; Wisconsin DNR maintains the official infested-waters list. Walleye are documented at Crystal Lake, one of 5 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.