Irving Lake

Irving Lake earns an A — water clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate among the best monitored waters in Vilas County. 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.

Trophically, Irving Lake reads as oligotrophic — nutrient-poor, clear, and ecologically more sensitive to disturbance than richer lakes. The lake's maximum depth is not yet documented in state morphometric records — context for its physical structure remains limited. The lake's 419 acres and partial shoreline records put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Irving Lake ranks 3 of 202 in Vilas County, putting it in the upper tier of locally monitored lakes.

No invasive species are currently listed at Irving Lake — the lake remains off the Wisconsin infested-waters roster. Walleye are documented at Irving Lake, one of 4 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.