Mornin' to everyone in La Crosse, WI, the most “unseasonably warm” major city in Wisconsin this year. This is the Wiscampsin Weekly - the email that gets you in the know on the Wisconsin outdoors in 5 minutes or less. New reader? Subscribe here.

Go grab a swim suit:

• Wisconsin’s Lakes 💧 

• Suing the DNR 🦫 

• Wildfire smoke 💨 

Liquid Gold: Ranking Wisconsin’s Lakes

Coming off the 4th of July (happy birthday, ‘Murica!), we’re assuming at least a few of you got out ‘der on a lake for swimming, water skiing, and underwater peein'.

Alas, after beer, the most famous liquid here in Wisconsin is our lakes. And depending on how you define a lake (ahem, Minnesota), we rank somewhere between two and five for states with the most lakes.

But which one is the best? Let’s dive in.

Wisconsin’s lakes

• WI boasts roughly 15,000 lakes

• WI counts nearly every body of water as a lake

• The Eagle River-Three Lakes Chain of 28 lakes = the largest inland chain of lakes in the world. Ooo

Defining the “best” lake

So, how do you determine which lake is truly “best?” Is it the deepest? The clearest? The biggest?

It really depends on what you want to do on said lake, whether that’s reeling in trophy walleye (ahem, Lake Winnebago), or getting totally airborne on a tube. Slow down, Uncle Joe!

But when it comes to lake health (the conservationists definition of “best”), it comes from a number of factors, such as clarity, nutrient levels, diversity of life, pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and total suspended solids.

The easiest marker is water clarity (literally, just look). It’s important because it affects how deep plants can grow, the dissolved oxygen content, and water temps.

Also, fish and birds need clear water to find their food. And your aunt Sheryl needs it to find her sunglasses.

Fun fact: a study found that a 3ft improvement in water clarity leads to an 11% increase in lakefront property values.

Ranking WI lakes (sort of)

We’ll admit it - you’re not going to find out which lake is “best” from us. But we will tell you which lakes rank highest in certain categories.

According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Survey, the American Sportfishing Association, DNR lake experts, & UW-Extension Lakes Program:

“Healthiest”

1. Owen Lake, Bayfield County

2. Dorothy Lake, Chippewa County

3. East Ellerson Lake, Vilas County

4. Burnt Wagon Lake, Chippewa County

5. Bond Lake, Douglas County

Clearest (also, here’s a cool map to geek out on from way back)

1. Black Oak Lake, Vilas County (30.8 feet of visibility)

2. Blue Lake, Oneida County (29 feet)

3. Bardon (Whitefish) Lake, Douglas County (26.3 feet)

4. Lee Lake, Oneida County (26.1 feet)

5. Upper Eau Claire Lake, Bayfield County (25.3 feet)

Murkiest

1. Tainter Lake, Dunn County (0.6 feet of visibility)

2. Fox Lake, Dodge County (0.83 feet)

3. Beaver Dam, Dodge County (1.08 feet)

4. Round Lake, Chippewa County (1.40 feet)

5. Mason Lake, Adams County (1.50 feet)

Biggest

1. Lake Winnebago, Fond du Lac County, among others, (137,708 acres)

2. Petenwell Lake, Adams/Wood counties, (23,040 acres)

3. Chippewa Lake (part of the Chippewa Flowage), Sawyer County, (15,300 acres)

4. Poygan Lake, Winnebago County, (14,102 acres)

5. Castle Rock Flowage, Juneau County, (13,955 acres)

Deepest

1. Lake Wazee, the former Jackson County iron mine quarry, (350 feet)

2. Green Lake, Green Lake County, (236 feet)

3. Redgranite Quarry, Waushara County, (163 feet)

4. Lake Geneva, Walworth County, (135 feet)

5. Lohrville Quarry, Waushara County, (120 feet)

How to get out ‘der

Pretty self explanatory, but grab a cooler, pack some snacks, and head toward your nearest lake!

If you want to do some good, join the Citizen Lake Monitoring Network.

For the thrill seekers out there (apparently Uncle Joe and his tubing shenanigans aren’t enough), check out the best cliff jumping spots in Wisconsin.

Q’s on fishing? Check out the regulations at the DNR’s website, or a few good fishing holes…

Now get out ‘der!

Together with a few of our newsletter friends…

As newsletter creators, we have a lot of people asking us: “Cripes, what other newsletters should I be reading?”

Here are a few of our favs!

• Matt’s Flight’s - Our go-to for finding out about cheap plane tickets and other travel hacks! (Click here to subscribe instantly)

• Clean Plates - Cutting through the noise of health advice + making it actionable with recipes, guides, and more (Click here to subscribe)

• The Daily Upside - The day’s top stories in business, all skimmable in less than 5 minutes (Click here to subscribe)

All free, all quality. Check em out!

Wiscampsin Weekly Poll

Very Impressive! Wisconsin ranks 20th for public land percentage in the US (the highest picked answer with 38% of the votes).

Nuts and Seeds 🌰 

💪 Inspo for all: A ‘Scon with Cerebral Palsy is planning on hiking the entire, 1,200 mile-long Ice Age Trail. April Scheel of Madison said: “I want to inspire people that cross my path. If I can do it, you can do whatever you set your mind to. Under my own power, in my own way.” Now that’s getting out ‘der!

🦫 Suing the Wisconsin DNR: A conservation non-profit Superior Bio-Conservancy is suing the DNR and USDA for the alleged widespread killing of beavers and otters. The DNR “killed 28,141 beavers and destroyed 14,796 beaver dams through hand removal or explosives” the nonprofit said, violating its promise to protect our wildlife. But not all experts agree with the claims of wrongdoing. Read more here.

💨 More smoky skies: Why did we get hit so heckin’ hard by that Canadian wildfire smoke? Unusually strong winds out of the north, combined with drought conditions. The DNR has issued its 9th air quality alert this year already, the first issuing of this alert in more than a decade.

Meme of the Week 😂 

A review from the trail… Well cripes, tell your neighbor about us!