Statehouse Lake

Statehouse Lake sits at the top of the Wisconsin DNR grading rubric with an A, a mark reached by the cleanest lakes in Wisconsin. Sub-grades cluster within a single letter of each other, which usually means the lake is in stable trophic balance rather than fighting one specific stressor.

Trophically, Statehouse Lake reads as oligotrophic — nutrient-poor, clear, and ecologically more sensitive to disturbance than richer lakes. The lake bottoms out at 18 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. The lake is compact at 21 acres, with partial shoreline records and little volume to buffer nutrient inputs. Statehouse Lake ranks 62 of 202 in Vilas County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Statehouse Lake — the lake remains off the Wisconsin infested-waters roster. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 3, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.