Little Rock Lake
Vilas County, WisconsinView mapDirections
Wisconsin DNR publishes the water-quality measurements for Little Rock Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- 26 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Little Rock Lake in Vilas County, Wisconsin has water-quality measurements published by Wisconsin DNR, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 8.3 µg/L.
Little Rock Lake is a cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Vilas County, Wisconsin with an estimated average depth of about 26 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available. Compared to the 102 other monitored lakes in Vilas County, Little Rock Lake ranks #81 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Wisconsin DNR Surface Water, last sampled 2026-05-14. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
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 Rock 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 Little Rock Lake
These are the measurements Wisconsin DNR publishes for Little Rock Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. Phosphorus 8.3 µg/L. TSI 35.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | No reading How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. | |
| Total phosphorus | 8.3µg/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. | 35 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Little Rock Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~26 ft est.
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 Little Rock Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
0 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
35 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,640 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.
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Fishing Little Rock Lake
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2020–2022). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Improving-5.2 µg/L/yr3 years
Nearby Lakes in Vilas County
Frequently asked questions about Little Rock Lake
Where is Little Rock Lake?
- Little Rock 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 Rock Lake?
- Little Rock Lake in Vilas County, Wisconsin has water-quality measurements published by Wisconsin DNR, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 8.3 µg/L.
Is Little Rock Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Little Rock Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Little Rock Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 26 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Can I fish at Little Rock Lake?
- Public access to Little Rock Lake is listed as yes on the lake record. 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 Little Rock Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
15 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2020–2026. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
WIDNR_WQX15 samples · 2020–2026
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)