Oxbow Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Oxbow Lake pulls an A: clarity at 26.2 ft and 15 µg/L of phosphorus put it in the top bracket for Wisconsin. Sub-grades cluster within a single letter of each other, which usually means the lake is in stable trophic balance rather than fighting one specific stressor.

The lake's low TSI puts it in oligotrophic territory — the cleanest of the four trophic classes, but also the most vulnerable to nutrient-driven shifts. A maximum depth of 44 ft puts Oxbow Lake in the middle of Wisconsin's depth distribution. Oxbow Lake covers 523 acres alongside partial shoreline records — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Within Vilas County's 202 graded waters, Oxbow Lake sits at rank 50, near the top of the local distribution.

Oxbow Lake has at least one documented invasive species (Banded Mystery Snail), so boaters and anglers should observe clean-drain-dry steps when leaving the lake. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 6 documented species — a notable draw for Wisconsin anglers. A documented public access point at Oxbow Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. 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.