Best Lakes for Boating Near Madison
Wisconsin
28 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 28 graded lakes — a lake-dense area that gives residents real choice on any given weekend. The average grade across the nearby set is C.
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 | 12.5 ft | - |
| 3 | Oconomowoc Lake | Waukesha | A | 47.5 mi | 13 ft | - |
| 4 | Okauchee Lake | Waukesha | A | 48.3 mi | 12 ft | - |
| 5 | Lower Nemahbin Lake | Waukesha | A | 48.9 mi | 10.9 ft | - |
| 6 | Okauchee Lake | Waukesha | A | 49.5 mi | 11.3 ft | - |
| 7 | Mill Lake | Walworth | B | 47.3 mi | 7.5 ft | - |
| 8 | Black Hawk Lake | Iowa | B | 44.6 mi | 5 ft | - |
| 9 | Okauchee Lake-Site No. 2-at Okauchee | Waukesha | B | 48.3 mi | 5.9 ft | - |
| 10 | White Mound Lake | Sauk | C | 39.9 mi | 5 ft | - |
| 11 | Whitewater Lake | Walworth | C | 41.6 mi | 4 ft | - |
| 12 | Blue Spring Lake | Jefferson | C | 43.2 mi | 6 ft | - |
| 13 | School Section Lake | Waukesha | C | 45.8 mi | 6.2 ft | - |
| 14 | Lake Wingra | Dane | C | 1.8 mi | 4 ft | - |
| 15 | Lake Kegonsa | Dane | C | 10.9 mi | 3.7 ft | - |
| 16 | Lake Waubesa | Dane | D | 6 mi | 3.2 ft | - |
| 17 | Park Lake | Columbia | D | 33.5 mi | - | - |
| 18 | Mirror Lake | Sauk | D | 40.2 mi | 4.6 ft | - |
| 19 | Rice Lake | Walworth | D | 41.1 mi | 1.5 ft | - |
| 20 | Lazy Lake | Columbia | D | 28.9 mi | 4 ft | - |
| 21 | Spring Lake | Columbia | D | 32.6 mi | 2 ft | - |
| 22 | Yellowstone Lake | Lafayette | F | 35.9 mi | 1.2 ft | - |
| 23 | Beaver Dam Lake | Dodge | F | 38.9 mi | 1 ft | - |
| 24 | Lake Delton | Sauk | F | 41 mi | 2.5 ft | - |
| 25 | Mason Lake | Adams | F | 41.5 mi | 1.1 ft | - |
| 26 | Fox Lake | Dodge | F | 42.4 mi | 1.7 ft | - |
| 27 | Buffalo Lake | Marquette | F | 48.6 mi | 2.5 ft | - |
| 28 | Comus Lake | Walworth | F | 48.7 mi | 1.5 ft | - |
Other activities near Madison
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.