Where is Morton Lake?

Morton 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 temperature of Morton Lake?

Morton Lake typically sits around 70°F at the surface in August, from 12 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2024–2025). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.

How deep is Morton Lake?

Morton Lake has a maximum depth of 29 feet. The lake covers 165 acres.

Morton Lake

Vilas County, Wisconsin165 acresView map Directions

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

Clarity

10.5 ft

Typical for Wisconsin

Secchi · sampled 2025

Water temp

~70°F

Typical for Aug · EPA WQP

Max depth

29 ft

Bathymetric survey

Area

165 acres

Surface area

Trend

Improving

6 years of samples

29 ft max depth
Limited data

See the measurements Directions Where to stay

Morton Lake in Vilas County, Wisconsin has water-quality measurements published by Wisconsin DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 10.5 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 29 ft. Surface area: 165 acres.

Wisconsin DNR lists Panfish as common on Morton Lake. DNR survey details →

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Morton Lake is a 165-acre lake in Vilas County, Wisconsin with a maximum depth of 29 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. The lake supports 5 documented fish species including Musky, Panfish, and Largemouth Bass.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Wisconsin DNR Surface Water, last sampled 2025-08-24. Methodology: how these readings are compared.

What Morton Lake is good for

From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.

Clear water10.5 ft of visibility
Fishing5 species recorded

Swimming conditions

No reading

Limited data

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.

Whether Morton 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.

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Water quality measurements for Morton Lake

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

Good clarity, visible to about 10.5 ft. TSI 43.

Water quality readings
Measure	Reading	Where it sits
Water clarity (Secchi depth)	10.5ft	Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer.
Total phosphorus		No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential.
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.	43	Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic

Moderate nutrients, good water quality

Ask about Morton Lake

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

Water Temperature

Morton Lake typically sits around 70°F at the surface in August. Summer average is about 73°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 77°F) and coldest in Aug (about 70°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

71°

Jun

77°

Jul

70°

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (70°F) to its warmest (77°F).

Typical surface water temperature by month, from 12 field readings (2024–2025) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Morton Lake water temperature breakdown →

DNR fisheries survey

Wisconsin DNR lists Panfish as common on Morton Lake.

A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Morton 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 1990. 1 station on file (most recent sample 2025).

Fish Species (DNR-rated)

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

Full WI DNR LakePage →Water quality stations →

Lake Details

Max depth

29 ft

Surface area

165 acres

Stays via Stay22

Stays near Morton Lake

Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Morton 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 Morton Lake

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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 Morton Lake

Water Quality Trend: Improving

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

Water clarity
Improving
5 years
Phosphorus
Improving
-5.5 µg/L/yr2 years

See year-by-year chart →

Nearby Lakes in Vilas County

Mccullough Lake8 ft clear · Mesotrophic—View →Beaver Lake6.5 ft clear · Mesotrophic—View →Dunn Lake6.5 ft clear—View →Russet Lake—View →Sanborn Lake—View →Twin Island Lake—View →

Frequently asked questions about Morton Lake

Where is Morton Lake?: Morton 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 Morton Lake?: Morton Lake in Vilas County, Wisconsin has water-quality measurements published by Wisconsin DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 10.5 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 29 ft. Surface area: 165 acres.
Is Morton Lake safe to swim in?: Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Morton Lake?: Morton Lake typically sits around 70°F at the surface in August, from 12 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2024–2025). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Morton Lake?: Morton Lake has a maximum depth of 29 feet. The lake covers 165 acres.
What fish are in Morton Lake?: Fish species found in Morton Lake include Musky, Panfish, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye. Morton Lake is located in Vilas County, Wisconsin.
What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Morton Lake?: Wisconsin DNR lists Panfish as common on Morton Lake. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Morton 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.

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Where this data comes from

6 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2024–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.

Collected and reported by

Wisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesWIDNR_WQX6 samples · 2024–2025

Monitoring station identifiers (1)

WIDNR_WQX-643245

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.