Hilderbrand Lake

Hilderbrand 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.

The lake's low TSI puts it in oligotrophic territory — the cleanest of the four trophic classes, but also the most vulnerable to nutrient-driven shifts. The lake bottoms out at 24 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. The lake is compact at 59 acres, with partial shoreline records and little volume to buffer nutrient inputs. Within Lincoln County's 21 graded lakes, Hilderbrand Lake ranks 12 — below the local median, though not at the bottom.

No invasive species are currently listed at Hilderbrand Lake — the lake remains off the Wisconsin infested-waters roster. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 3, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.