Paulsen Lake
Polk County, WisconsinView mapDirections
Wisconsin DNR publishes the water-quality measurements for Paulsen Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 20 ft max depth
- Limited data
Paulsen Lake in Polk County, Wisconsin has water-quality measurements published by Wisconsin DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 12 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 12.7 µg/L.
Paulsen Lake is a mesotrophic lake in Polk County, Wisconsin with an estimated average depth of about 20 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 54 other monitored lakes in Polk County, Paulsen Lake ranks #11 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Wisconsin DNR Surface Water, last sampled 2025-09-08. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Paulsen Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Paulsen Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water12 ft of visibility
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 Paulsen 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 Paulsen Lake
These are the measurements Wisconsin DNR publishes for Paulsen 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 12 ft. Phosphorus 12.7 µg/L. TSI 41.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 12ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 12.7µg/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. | 41 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Paulsen Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Paulsen Lake typically sits around 67°F at the surface in September. Summer average is about 77°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 79°F) and coldest in Sep (about 67°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (67°F) to its warmest (79°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 12 field readings (2024–2025) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Paulsen Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~20 ft est.
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Wisconsin has not published bathymetry for Paulsen Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
0 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
25 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
0.9 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
951 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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Stays near Paulsen Lake
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Top-rated places to stay near Paulsen Lake
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Fishing Paulsen Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Stable5 years
Phosphorus
Improving-1.1 µg/L/yr2 years
Nearby Lakes in Polk County
Frequently asked questions about Paulsen Lake
Where is Paulsen Lake?
- Paulsen Lake is a lake in Polk County, Wisconsin. Its water-quality measurements are published by Wisconsin DNR and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Paulsen Lake?
- Paulsen Lake in Polk County, Wisconsin has water-quality measurements published by Wisconsin DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 12 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 12.7 µg/L.
Is Paulsen 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 Paulsen Lake?
- Paulsen Lake typically sits around 67°F at the surface in September, 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 Paulsen Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Paulsen Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 20 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
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Where this data comes from
14 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
WIDNR_WQX14 samples · 2020–2025
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)