What is the best kayaking lake near Oshkosh?

Pearl Lake in Waushara County is the top-ranked kayaking lake near Oshkosh, with a water quality grade of A (28.9 miles away).

How many lakes are near Oshkosh for kayaking?

30 lakes within driving distance of Oshkosh match the kayaking filters used on this page.

Best Lakes for Kayaking Near Oshkosh

Wisconsin

30 kayaking lakes within driving distance of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, ranked by water quality and kayaking-specific filters. Filtered for grade A, B, or C water quality, public access, and ideal paddling size (30-3,000 acres).

Within reasonable driving distance of Oshkosh 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 A.

Filtered for kayaking, the nearby-lake list narrows further. kayaking-specific signals — fish species, public access, depth profile, motor-boat congestion — interact with the LakeGrade rubric in different ways depending on the use case.

#	Lake	County	Grade	Distance	Clarity	Depth
1	Pearl Lake	Waushara	A	28.9 mi	19 ft	45 ft
2	Napowan Lake	Waushara	A	31.5 mi	-	18 ft
3	Pine Lake	Waushara	A	33.8 mi	19.3 ft	21 ft
4	Round Lake	Waupaca	A	37.8 mi	17.5 ft	67 ft
5	Witters Lake	Waushara	A	37.8 mi	15.5 ft	17 ft
6	White Lake	Marquette	A	38.5 mi	17 ft	60 ft
7	De Neveu Lake	Fond du Lac	A	21.6 mi	11 ft	67 ft
8	Elkhart Lake	Sheboygan	A	29.2 mi	10.5 ft	119 ft
9	Kettle Moraine Lake	Fond du Lac	A	30.6 mi	11 ft	30 ft
10	Long Lake	Waushara	A	31.6 mi	14.5 ft	71 ft
11	Little Elkhart Lake	Sheboygan	A	32 mi	10 ft	25 ft
12	Kusel Lake	Waushara	A	32.6 mi	11.5 ft	29 ft
13	Little Hills Lake	Waushara	A	33.1 mi	14 ft	20 ft
14	Bear Lake	Waupaca	A	33.3 mi	11 ft	62 ft
15	Lake Morris	Waushara	A	33.6 mi	11 ft	40 ft
16	Gilbert Lake	Waushara	A	33.7 mi	12 ft	65 ft
17	Silver Lake	Waushara	A	34 mi	14.5 ft	56 ft
18	Porters Lake	Waushara	A	34.2 mi	11 ft	16 ft
19	Forest Lake	Fond du Lac	A	34.3 mi	14 ft	32 ft
20	Silver Lake	Waushara	A	34.5 mi	10.2 ft	50 ft
21	Shadow Lake	Waupaca	A	34.9 mi	12 ft	41 ft
22	Stratton Lake	Waupaca	A	36.7 mi	13 ft	42 ft
23	Taylor Lake	Waupaca	A	36.9 mi	10 ft	58 ft
24	Columbia Lake	Waupaca	A	37.7 mi	11 ft	72 ft
25	Long Lake	Waupaca	A	37.8 mi	13 ft	76 ft
26	Tuttle Lake	Marquette	A	37.8 mi	11.5 ft	33 ft
27	Wilke Lake	Manitowoc	B	29.2 mi	7 ft	21 ft
28	Long Lake	Fond du Lac	B	30.6 mi	9.1 ft	47 ft
29	Spring Lake	Waushara	B	30.8 mi	10.2 ft	37 ft
30	Round Lake	Waushara	B	32.1 mi	12.5 ft	19 ft

Other activities near Oshkosh

Swimming near Oshkosh →Fishing near Oshkosh →Boating near Oshkosh →All lakes near Oshkosh →

Where to stay near Oshkosh

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Top-rated places to stay near Oshkosh

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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.