Best Lakes for Boating Near Madison
Wisconsin
30 boating lakes within driving distance of Madison, Wisconsin, ranked by water quality and boating-specific filters. Filtered for at least 100 acres and public access. The largest lakes with boat-worthy water are listed first.
Within reasonable driving distance of Madison sit 30 graded lakes — a lake-dense area that gives residents real choice on any given weekend. The average grade across the nearby set is B.
The boating-specific ranking layered on top of the LakeGrade rubric is what produces the list below: a grade-good lake that does not also support the boating use case is less useful than a grade-decent lake that does.
| # | Lake | County | Grade | Distance | Clarity | Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rock River Lake | Rock | A | 32.4 mi | 21 ft | - |
| 2 | Rock Lake | Jefferson | A | 23.7 mi | 12 ft | 60 ft |
| 3 | Turtle Lake | Walworth | A | 43.6 mi | 11 ft | 30 ft |
| 4 | Golden Lake | Waukesha | A | 43.8 mi | 12.8 ft | 44 ft |
| 5 | Silver Lake | Waukesha | A | 46.1 mi | 10 ft | 40 ft |
| 6 | Green Lake | Walworth | A | 46.7 mi | 11 ft | 57 ft |
| 7 | Middle Lake | Walworth | A | 47.1 mi | 10 ft | 40 ft |
| 8 | Pleasant Lake | Walworth | A | 47.2 mi | 12 ft | 29 ft |
| 9 | Oconomowoc Lake | Waukesha | A | 47.5 mi | 13 ft | 60 ft |
| 10 | Jordan Lake | Adams | A | 47.9 mi | 13 ft | 92 ft |
| 11 | Okauchee Lake | Waukesha | A | 48.3 mi | 12 ft | 90 ft |
| 12 | Oconomowoc Lake Site | Waukesha | A | 48.6 mi | 13 ft | 60 ft |
| 13 | Lower Nemahbin Lake | Waukesha | A | 48.9 mi | 10.9 ft | 36 ft |
| 14 | Upper Nemahbin Lake | Waukesha | A | 49 mi | 12 ft | 60 ft |
| 15 | Okauchee Lake | Waukesha | A | 49.5 mi | 11.3 ft | 90 ft |
| 16 | Mill Lake | Walworth | B | 47.3 mi | 7.5 ft | 40 ft |
| 17 | Upper Nemahbin Lake | Waukesha | B | 49 mi | 12 ft | 60 ft |
| 18 | Lake Ripley | Jefferson | B | 21.2 mi | 9 ft | 44 ft |
| 19 | Black Hawk Lake | Iowa | B | 44.6 mi | 5 ft | 42 ft |
| 20 | Lac la Belle Lake | Waukesha | B | 44.8 mi | 4.8 ft | 45 ft |
| 21 | Okauchee Lake Site | Waukesha | B | 49.1 mi | 5.9 ft | 90 ft |
| 22 | Ocauchee Lake | Waukesha | B | 49.4 mi | 6.6 ft | 90 ft |
| 23 | Okauchee Lake Deep Hole Usgs | Waukesha | B | 49.5 mi | 7.5 ft | 90 ft |
| 24 | Hope Lake | Jefferson | C | 21.4 mi | 8 ft | 24 ft |
| 25 | Red Cedar Lake | Jefferson | C | 21.9 mi | 4.3 ft | 6 ft |
| 26 | Devils Lake | Sauk | C | 28.9 mi | 7.3 ft | 47 ft |
| 27 | Lake Lorraine | Walworth | C | 41.1 mi | - | 8 ft |
| 28 | Whitewater Lake | Walworth | C | 41.6 mi | 4 ft | 35 ft |
| 29 | Blue Spring Lake | Jefferson | C | 43.2 mi | 6.2 ft | 27 ft |
| 30 | School Section Lake | Waukesha | C | 45.8 mi | 6.2 ft | 8 ft |
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.