Shoe Lake

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

Mesotrophic conditions dominate at Shoe Lake: enough nutrients for a healthy fishery, not so much that algal blooms become a chronic problem. A maximum depth of 34 ft puts Shoe Lake in the middle of Wisconsin's depth distribution. At 10 acres, Shoe Lake sits below the Wisconsin median: a small water where shoreline activity has an outsized effect on water quality. Shoe Lake ranks 8 of 18 in Manitowoc County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

Eurasian watermilfoil has been documented at Shoe Lake, requiring shoreline management to keep dense mats from crowding native vegetation. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 4, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. A documented public access point at Shoe 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.