Silver Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Silver Lake pulls an A: clarity at 13.0 ft and 13 µg/L of phosphorus put it in the top bracket for Wisconsin. With clarity and phosphorus scored, the sub-grades cluster within a letter of each other, pointing to stable conditions rather than one specific stressor.

A TSI near 40 places Silver Lake in the mesotrophic band — moderate productivity, with seasonal swings between clearer spring water and richer late-summer conditions. At 91 ft of maximum depth, Silver Lake stratifies reliably through the summer — the hypolimnion stays cooler and clearer than the surface layer suggests. Silver Lake covers 331 acres alongside partial shoreline records — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Silver Lake ranks 2 of 37 in Barron County, putting it in the upper tier of locally monitored lakes.

An invasive species record — Chinese Mystery Snail — has been logged at Silver Lake; Wisconsin DNR maintains the official infested-waters list. Walleye are documented at Silver Lake, one of 6 fish species on record for the lake. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.