Echo Lake

Echo Lake earns an A — every scored parameter (clarity and phosphorus) rates among the best monitored waters in Barron County. clarity and phosphorus rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

A TSI near 42 places Echo Lake in the mesotrophic band — moderate productivity, with seasonal swings between clearer spring water and richer late-summer conditions. The lake bottoms out at 41 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. Echo Lake covers 172 acres alongside partial shoreline records — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Among the 37 graded lakes in Barron County, Echo Lake ranks 5 — in the top quartile locally.

Echo Lake carries an invasive watermilfoil record — boat-launch decontamination and shoreline care matter more here than at uninfested lakes. Walleye are documented at Echo Lake, one of 4 fish species on record for the lake. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.