Taylor Lake

Taylor 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, Taylor Lake reads as oligotrophic — nutrient-poor, clear, and ecologically more sensitive to disturbance than richer lakes. Taylor Lake is unusually deep for Wisconsin at 58 ft, which buffers the lake against summer warming and helps the deep water stay oxygenated. Taylor Lake is small — 43 acres alongside partial shoreline records — which makes it sensitive to even modest changes in watershed runoff or recreational pressure. Taylor Lake sits at rank 17 of 27 in Waupaca County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

Taylor Lake is on the Wisconsin infested-waters list for zebra mussels — boaters should follow clean-drain-dry protocols when moving gear to or from the lake. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 6 documented species — a notable draw for Wisconsin anglers. A documented public access point at Taylor Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.