Gile Flowage Lake
Iron County, Wisconsin3,317 acresView mapDirections
Wisconsin DNR publishes the water-quality measurements for Gile Flowage Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 72 ft max depth
- Public access
Gile Flowage Lake in Iron County, Wisconsin has water-quality measurements published by Wisconsin DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30.2 µg/L. Surface area: 3317 acres.
Gile Flowage Lake is a 3,317-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Iron County, Wisconsin with an estimated average depth of about 72 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 4 public boat landings. Compared to the 15 other monitored lakes in Iron County, Gile Flowage Lake ranks #16 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Wisconsin DNR Surface Water, last sampled 2026-07-14. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Gile Flowage Lake covers about 3,300 acres in Iron County. It has 4 public boat landings, so a lakefront rental is not the only way to get a boat on the water. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Gile Flowage Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Gile Flowage Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch4 documented ramps
- Big water3,317 acres
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyModerate algae
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Gile Flowage Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Gile Flowage Lake
These are the measurements Wisconsin DNR publishes for Gile Flowage Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 4.6 ft. Phosphorus 30.2 µg/L. TSI 54.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 4.6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 30.2µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 54 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Gile Flowage Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
DNR Reports & Resources
Wisconsin DNR Fisheries scientists publish multi-year survey reports for Gile Flowage Lake covering fish populations, stocking, water quality, and management. 1 report on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- 2024Gile Flowage late spring shocking and netting survey, 2024Spring Shocking Survey · WI DNR · 2024 (PDF)
Lake Details
Max depth
~72 ft est.
Surface area
3,317 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Wisconsin DNR
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Wisconsin has not published bathymetry for Gile Flowage Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
75 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
27.9 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,480 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Recreation & Access
- Gile Flowage - NorthPublic
- Highway CPublic
- 4-HPublic
- Gile Flowage - SouthPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Gile Flowage Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Gile Flowage Lake in Iron County, Wisconsin — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water.
Top-rated places to stay near Gile Flowage Lake
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Fishing Gile Flowage Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2021–2026).
Water clarity
Improving6 years
Phosphorus
Improving-1.6 µg/L/yr6 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Gile Flowage Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Gile (completed 1941), built primarily for other on the West Fork, Montreal Rive; earth-type dam, 30 ft tall and 899 ft long.
- Surface area
- 3,317 ac
- Normal storage
- 37,064 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 38,000 ac-ft
- Hazard class
- High
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID WI00042 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Iron County
Frequently asked questions about Gile Flowage Lake
Where is Gile Flowage Lake?
- Gile Flowage Lake is a lake in Iron County, Wisconsin. Its water-quality measurements are published by Wisconsin DNR and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Gile Flowage Lake?
- Gile Flowage Lake in Iron County, Wisconsin has water-quality measurements published by Wisconsin DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30.2 µg/L. Surface area: 3317 acres.
Is Gile Flowage Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Gile Flowage Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Gile Flowage Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 72 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 3317 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Gile Flowage Lake?
- Gile Flowage Lake has 4 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Gile Flowage - North, Highway C, 4-H, Gile Flowage - South. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Gile Flowage Lake?
- Gile Flowage Lake has 4 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Wisconsin's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Gile Flowage Lake across LakeQuality
Depth, room, public access, and the state wake-sport rules
17.2 mi away · 30 ft
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Where this data comes from
39 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2021–2026. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
WIDNR_WQX39 samples · 2021–2026
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
Monitoring station identifiers (2)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Fish and recreation data from Wisconsin DNR Lakes
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory