Pardee Lake

Pardee Lake sits at the top of the Wisconsin DNR grading rubric with an A, a mark reached by the cleanest lakes in Wisconsin. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

Trophically, Pardee Lake reads as oligotrophic — nutrient-poor, clear, and ecologically more sensitive to disturbance than richer lakes. A maximum depth of 27 ft puts Pardee Lake in the middle of Wisconsin's depth distribution. Pardee Lake covers 207 acres alongside partial shoreline records — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Pardee Lake sits at rank 23 of 34 in Iron County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

An invasive species record — Banded Mystery Snail — has been logged at Pardee Lake; Wisconsin DNR maintains the official infested-waters list. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 5 documented species — a notable draw for Wisconsin anglers. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.