Ranch Lake

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

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Wisconsin lakes fall. A maximum depth of 44 ft puts Ranch Lake in the middle of Wisconsin's depth distribution. Ranch Lake is small — 52 acres alongside partial shoreline records — which makes it sensitive to even modest changes in watershed runoff or recreational pressure. Ranch Lake ranks 27 of 62 in Oconto County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

Ranch Lake has at least one documented invasive species (Purple Loosestrife), so boaters and anglers should observe clean-drain-dry steps when leaving the lake. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 3, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. Public access is available — the lake is on the Wisconsin DNR public-access list. 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.