Lawrence Lake

Lawrence Lake sits at the top of the Wisconsin DNR grading rubric with an A, a mark reached by the cleanest lakes in Wisconsin. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Wisconsin lakes fall. Lawrence Lake is a shallow lake at 14 ft maximum depth, which means it warms quickly, mixes constantly, and amplifies nutrient inputs. Lawrence Lake covers 217 acres alongside partial shoreline records — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Within Marquette County's 14 graded lakes, Lawrence Lake ranks 9 — below the local median, though not at the bottom.

Eurasian watermilfoil is established at Lawrence Lake, which can dampen recreational access and pressure the native plant community. Walleye are documented at Lawrence 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.