Lower Sugarbush Lake Deep

Lower Sugarbush Lake Deep earns an A — water clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate among the best monitored waters in Vilas County. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

Trophically, Lower Sugarbush Lake Deep reads as oligotrophic — nutrient-poor, clear, and ecologically more sensitive to disturbance than richer lakes. Lower Sugarbush Lake Deep is unusually deep for Wisconsin at 61 ft, which buffers the lake against summer warming and helps the deep water stay oxygenated. Lower Sugarbush Lake Deep covers 180 acres alongside partial shoreline records — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Lower Sugarbush Lake Deep ranks 31 of 191 in Vilas County, putting it in the upper tier of locally monitored lakes.

An invasive species record — Purple Loosestrife — has been logged at Lower Sugarbush Lake Deep; Wisconsin DNR maintains the official infested-waters list. Walleye are documented at Lower Sugarbush Lake Deep, one of 6 fish species on record for the lake. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.