What are mesotrophic lakes in Wisconsin?

402 mesotrophic lakes in Wisconsin. Moderate nutrients, good water quality.

What does mesotrophic mean?

Moderate nutrients, good water quality.

Mesotrophic Lakes in Wisconsin

Mesotrophic lakes are the productive middle of the trophic scale — TSI between 40 and 50. Clear enough to be inviting, productive enough to support a strong fishery, with moderate phosphorus and a modest algal community that does not dominate the optical signal. 402 lakes in Wisconsin sit in the mesotrophic band. About 16% are deep (50+ ft); the rest are shallower basins where watershed management keeps nutrients from pushing the system into eutrophy.

Mesotrophic lakes tend to grade B or C on our A–F scale — the productive-but-clear band lines up with the middle of the letter grades.

#	Lake	County	Grade	Clarity	Depth	TSI
1	Big Cedar Lake-North Site-Near West Bend	Washington	A	11.8 ft	105 ft	43
2	Green Lake	Green Lake	A	13.5 ft	236 ft	47
3	Lake Beulah	Walworth	A	10 ft	58 ft	42
4	Powers Lake	Kenosha	A	10 ft	33 ft	44
5	Lac Courte Oreilles Lake	Sawyer	A	12.2 ft	90 ft	40
6	Indian Lake	Sawyer	A	6.5 ft	9 ft	47
7	Big Sand Lake	Burnett	A	11 ft	55 ft	43
8	Big Lake	Shawano	A	8 ft	-	44
9	Christner Lake	Sawyer	A	12 ft	16 ft	42
10	Sand Lake	Barron	A	13 ft	-	41
11	Sand Lake	Sawyer	A	10 ft	50 ft	46
12	Ashegon Lake	Sawyer	A	10.5 ft	56 ft	43
13	Koonz Lake	Shawano	A	10.8 ft	40 ft	41
14	Lost Lake	Sawyer	A	10.6 ft	13 ft	42
15	Durphee Lake	Sawyer	A	8.1 ft	-	46
16	Malone Lake	Shawano	A	13.5 ft	31 ft	41
17	Sams Lake	Shawano	A	11 ft	13 ft	42
18	Bealeau Lake	Shawano	A	11.5 ft	24 ft	42
19	Mole Lake	Forest	A	8.5 ft	17 ft	41
20	Devil'S Lake	Forest	A	-	-	44
21	Wind Lake	Polk	B	10 ft	7 ft	45
22	Green Lake	Walworth	B	11 ft	57 ft	40
23	Green Lake	Washington	B	9 ft	37 ft	45
24	Boulder Lake	Oconto	B	11 ft	11 ft	42
25	Lake Noquebay	Marinette	B	7.3 ft	51 ft	48
26	Spider Lake	Iron	B	8.5 ft	-	44
27	Spider Lake	Sawyer	B	10.5 ft	64 ft	43
28	Spider Lake	Vilas	B	10.5 ft	43 ft	43
29	Pickerel Lake	Forest	B	10 ft	19 ft	46
30	Pickerel Lake	Oconto	B	8 ft	10 ft	45
31	Pickerel Lake	Lincoln	B	-	14 ft	48
32	Carpenter Lake	Vilas	B	7.5 ft	16 ft	47
33	Cranberry Lake	Burnett	B	8.8 ft	26 ft	44
34	Cranberry Lake	Bayfield	B	9 ft	12 ft	46
35	Beaver Dam Lake	Barron	B	11 ft	106 ft	42
36	North Turtle Lake	Vilas	B	8.5 ft	58 ft	45
37	Balsam Lake	Washburn	B	8.8 ft	-	46
38	Silver Lake	Kenosha	B	7.1 ft	44 ft	47
39	Silver Lake	Waukesha	B	10 ft	40 ft	42
40	Silver Lake	Waushara	B	14.8 ft	56 ft	41
41	Silver Lake	Barron	B	13 ft	91 ft	40
42	Silver Lake	Waupaca	B	7 ft	17 ft	48
43	Silver Lake	Waushara	B	10.2 ft	50 ft	43
44	Silver Lake	Vilas	B	12.1 ft	19 ft	43
45	Silver Lake	Forest	B	13 ft	20 ft	40
46	Whitefish Lake	Oneida	B	8.8 ft	33 ft	45
47	Round Lake	Shawano	B	11 ft	39 ft	43
48	Round Lake	Chippewa	B	8.4 ft	18 ft	46
49	Cedar Lake	Manitowoc	B	10.2 ft	21 ft	45
50	Cedar Lake	Iron	B	7.5 ft	21 ft	47
51	Mirror Lake	Waupaca	B	13 ft	43 ft	42
52	Deep Lake	Washburn	B	7.5 ft	25 ft	46
53	Bass Lake	Florence	B	12 ft	16 ft	40
54	Bass Lake	Oneida	B	6 ft	20 ft	50
55	Bass Lake	Price	B	8.8 ft	46 ft	44
56	Bass Lake	St. Croix	B	10 ft	-	43
57	Bass Lake	Barron	B	10 ft	14 ft	44
58	Bass Lake	Vilas	B	12.8 ft	15 ft	43
59	Bass Lake	Lincoln	B	12.5 ft	40 ft	41
60	Little Friess Lake	Washington	B	7.4 ft	34 ft	50
61	Ashippun Lake	Waukesha	B	10 ft	35 ft	43
62	Callahan Lake	Sawyer	B	10.6 ft	18 ft	46
63	Kusel Lake	Waushara	B	11.5 ft	29 ft	43
64	Berry Lake	Oconto	B	7.5 ft	27 ft	46
65	Spencer Lake	Waupaca	B	8.5 ft	53 ft	43
66	Pioneer Lake	Vilas	B	9.5 ft	27 ft	44
67	Bone Lake	Polk	B	8 ft	43 ft	47
68	Marl Lake	Waushara	B	12 ft	35 ft	43
69	Indian Lake	Oneida	B	11 ft	26 ft	42
70	Turtle Flambeau Flowage Lake	Iron	B	6 ft	-	49
71	Little Pickerel Lake	Oconto	B	11 ft	20 ft	44
72	Tom Doyle Lake	Oneida	B	7 ft	30 ft	45
73	Oxbow Lake	Vilas	B	8 ft	44 ft	45
74	Ottawa Lake	Waukesha	B	13 ft	16 ft	41
75	Two Island Lake	Chippewa	B	15.3 ft	38 ft	40
76	Bear Lake	Forest	B	5.6 ft	20 ft	49
77	Bear Lake	Oneida	B	8 ft	20 ft	46
78	Bear Lake	Barron	B	6.2 ft	87 ft	48
79	Bear Lake	Waupaca	B	11 ft	62 ft	44
80	Bear Lake	Oconto	B	9 ft	20 ft	44
81	Long Lake	Washburn	B	9.5 ft	-	45
82	Long Lake	Waupaca	B	13 ft	76 ft	40
83	Long Lake	Fond du Lac	B	9.1 ft	47 ft	46
84	Long Lake	Chippewa	B	13.1 ft	101 ft	40
85	Crooked Lake	Waukesha	B	8 ft	16 ft	46
86	Crooked Lake	Adams	B	9 ft	56 ft	45
87	Crooked Lake	Oconto	B	11 ft	37 ft	41
88	Towanda Lake	Vilas	B	10.5 ft	27 ft	42
89	Wilke Lake	Manitowoc	B	7 ft	21 ft	47
90	Birch Lake	Vilas	B	6.5 ft	45 ft	47
91	Legend Lake	Menominee	B	10 ft	-	43
92	Lilly Lake	Kenosha	B	13.5 ft	22 ft	41
93	East Alaska Lake	Kewaunee	B	9.5 ft	50 ft	44
94	Rock Lake	Kenosha	B	10 ft	33 ft	44
95	Rock Lake	Jefferson	B	12 ft	60 ft	44
96	North Lake	Waukesha	B	8 ft	78.4 ft	46
97	North Lake	Waupaca	B	12.5 ft	33 ft	42
98	Imogene Lake	Vilas	B	10 ft	41 ft	44
99	Pike Lake	Washington	B	7 ft	45 ft	48
100	Pleasant Lake	Waushara	B	11.5 ft	24 ft	41

All mesotrophic lakes →Minnesota version →Illinois version →Michigan version →Iowa version →Ohio version →Pennsylvania version →New York version →Missouri version →Indiana version →North Dakota version →South Dakota version →Florida version →Colorado version →North Carolina version →Vermont version →Texas version →Oregon version →Arkansas version →Oklahoma version →Kansas version →Nebraska version →Nevada version →Arizona version →Idaho version →Montana version →New Mexico version →Tennessee version →Alabama version →Virginia version →Kentucky version →Utah version →Washington version →Wyoming version →Georgia version →Massachusetts version →Ontario version →Québec version →Nova Scotia version →British Columbia version →Newfoundland and Labrador version →All Wisconsin lakes →

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.