Where is Little Crooked Lake?

Little Crooked Lake is a lake in Vilas County, Wisconsin. Its water-quality measurements are published by Wisconsin DNR and shown on this page as reported.

How deep is Little Crooked Lake?

Little Crooked Lake has a maximum depth of 30 feet. The lake covers 154 acres.

Are there boat ramps on Little Crooked Lake?

Little Crooked Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Little Crooked Lake. Public access is listed as yes.

Can I fish at Little Crooked Lake?

Little Crooked Lake has 1 documented boat landing 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.

Little Crooked Lake

Vilas County, Wisconsin154 acresView map Directions

Wisconsin DNR publishes the water-quality measurements for Little Crooked Lake. Here is what has been measured.

Clarity

8.5 ft

Typical for Wisconsin

Secchi · sampled 2025

Phosphorus

16.8 µg/L

Typical for Wisconsin

Measured by Wisconsin DNR

Max depth

30 ft

Bathymetric survey

Area

154 acres

Surface area

Type

Mesotrophic

Trophic class

Trend

Improving

6 years of samples

Mesotrophic
Rusty Crayfish
30 ft max depth
Public access

See the measurements Directions Where to stay

Little Crooked Lake in Vilas County, Wisconsin has water-quality measurements published by Wisconsin DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 16.8 µg/L. Maximum depth: 30 ft. Surface area: 154 acres.

Wisconsin DNR lists Musky as common on Little Crooked Lake. DNR survey details →

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Little Crooked Lake is a 154-acre mesotrophic lake in Vilas County, Wisconsin with a maximum depth of 30 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. The lake supports 5 documented fish species including Musky, Panfish, and Largemouth Bass. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 102 other monitored lakes in Vilas County, Little Crooked Lake ranks #26 for water quality.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Wisconsin DNR Surface Water, last sampled 2025-08-29. Methodology: how these readings are compared.

Little Crooked Lake covers about 150 acres in Vilas County. It has one public boat landing. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Little Crooked Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.

What Little Crooked Lake is good for

From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.

Boat launch1 documented ramp
Fishing5 species recorded
Deep water30 ft surveyed max depth

Swimming conditions

Readings only

Low 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 Little Crooked 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.

Compare swimming lakes near Minocqua →

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Water quality measurements for Little Crooked Lake

These are the measurements Wisconsin DNR publishes for Little Crooked Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.

Moderate clarity, visible to about 8.5 ft. Phosphorus 16.8 µg/L. TSI 46.

Water quality readings
Measure	Reading	Where it sits
Water clarity (Secchi depth)	8.5ft	Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer.
Total phosphorus	16.8µg/L	Good 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.	46	Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic

Moderate nutrients, good water quality

Ask about Little Crooked Lake

Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.

DNR fisheries survey

Wisconsin DNR lists Musky as common on Little Crooked Lake.

A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Little Crooked Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is improving. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.

WI DNR Lake Profile

Authoritative data from the Wisconsin DNR LakePages. Monitored by volunteers since 1992. 2 stations on file (most recent sample 2025).

DNR Assessment

Excellent · Deep Lowland lake

Trophic State Index 46 (mesotrophic) · 5-year average

Fish Species (DNR-rated)

Musky(Common)Panfish(Common)Walleye(Common)Largemouth Bass(Present)Northern Pike(Present)

Contour map (PDF) →Full WI DNR LakePage →Water quality stations →

Lake Details

Max depth

30 ft

Surface area

154 acres

Public access

Yes

Listed by Wisconsin DNR

Lake Size & Watershed

Watershed (drainage) area

2 sq mi

HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS

Shoreline

2.4 mi

HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS

Elevation

1,624 ft

Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS).

Recreation & Access

Boat Landings

Yes

Public Access

Little Crooked LakePublic

Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps

Stays via Stay22

Stays near Little Crooked Lake

Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Little Crooked Lake in Vilas 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 Little Crooked Lake

Prices for Oct 9–11, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.

Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.

Planning a whole trip? See where to stay at Wisconsin’s top lakes →

Follow Little Crooked Lake’s readings

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Fish Species

Musky Panfish Largemouth Bass Northern Pike Walleye

Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.

Fishing Little Crooked Lake

Invasive & Introduced Species

Red chips are ecologically harmful invasive species. Gray chips are stocked or introduced fish that aren't a current ecological concern.

Rusty Crayfish

Water Quality Trend: Improving

Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).

Water clarity
Stable
6 years
Phosphorus
Improving
-1.15 µg/L/yr6 years

See year-by-year chart →

Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby

1 EPA-permitted facility operate within about 5 miles of Little Crooked Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits.

Dairymens Inc
Boulder Junction · 1.2 mi away · NPDES WI0058343

Facilities permitted to discharge under the Clean Water Act within ~5 miles; proximity does not by itself mean a facility affects this lake. Source: EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES), as of 2026-07.

Nearby Lakes in Vilas County

Bear Lake—View →Big Crooked Lake—View →Round Lake—View →Wolf Lake—View →Wool Lake—View →Sanford Lake—View →

Frequently asked questions about Little Crooked Lake

Where is Little Crooked Lake?: Little Crooked Lake is a lake in Vilas County, Wisconsin. Its water-quality measurements are published by Wisconsin DNR and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Little Crooked Lake?: Little Crooked Lake in Vilas County, Wisconsin has water-quality measurements published by Wisconsin DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 16.8 µg/L. Maximum depth: 30 ft. Surface area: 154 acres.
Is Little Crooked Lake safe to swim in?: Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Little Crooked Lake?: Little Crooked Lake has a maximum depth of 30 feet. The lake covers 154 acres.
What fish are in Little Crooked Lake?: Fish species found in Little Crooked Lake include Musky, Panfish, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye. Little Crooked Lake is located in Vilas County, Wisconsin.
What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Little Crooked Lake?: Wisconsin DNR lists Musky as common on Little Crooked Lake. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Little Crooked Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is improving. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
Are there boat ramps on Little Crooked Lake?: Little Crooked Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Little Crooked Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Little Crooked Lake?: Little Crooked Lake has 1 documented boat landing 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.

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Where this data comes from

73 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.

Collected and reported by

Wisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesWIDNR_WQX73 samples · 2020–2025

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

Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)

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