Squirrel Lake (Vilas, Oneida County)
Waterbody ID (WBIC): 1536300 — permanent page /lakes/1536300/.
Squirrel Lake is in Vilas, Oneida County; records show 1,309 acres and 2 DNR access-site records.
- Size
- 1,309 acres
- Lake type
- DRAINAGE
- Max depth
- 46 ft
- Mean depth
- 16 ft
- 2 documented public access site records (DNR access inventory)
- 6 fish species/groups with abundance categories (DNR lake page)
- Summer Secchi clarity median 9.4 ft (field measurements)
- Official DNR depth map available (PDF)
Back to results Show on map Choose access / Directions Depth map (PDF) Check current DNR regulations
Plan your visit
- Lake directory: public landing — Yes
- Lake directory: public beach — No
- Lake directory: public park — Yes
- DNR public-access inventory: 2 documented access site records
- DNR public-access inventory: documented developed boat ramp
- 2 sites qualify for per-site Directions through the reviewed lake association (load the site details below)
Each statement is bounded to its named source; absence of a record is never evidence of no access. The DNR access database may lag reality; posted signs at the landing are authoritative.
Verify at the DNR public boat access program page.
Nearby facilities
- MEMORIAL GROVE — Interpretive site; ≈11.4 km from the lake shoreline (straight line); ≈12.8 km from the associated access point (straight line).
- EMILY LAKE — Campground; ≈11.7 km from the lake shoreline (straight line); ≈13.1 km from the associated access point (straight line); fee charged. Official USFS page
- WABASSO LAKE BL — Boating site; ≈11.7 km from the lake shoreline (straight line); ≈13.2 km from the associated access point (straight line); fee charged.
- ROUND LAKE BL — Boating site; ≈14.4 km from the lake shoreline (straight line); ≈15.3 km from the associated access point (straight line); fee charged. Official USFS page
- ROUND LAKE LOGGING DAM — Interpretive site; ≈14.8 km from the lake shoreline (straight line); ≈15.7 km from the associated access point (straight line); fee charged.
USFS Chequamegon-Nicolet constructed recreation sites only; straight-line distance is geographic context, not a travel route.
Documented public access sites — load details
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Fishing
The DNR lake page publishes 6 fish species/groups with abundance categories — categories are source labels, never a population count.
DNR fish labels: Largemouth Bass—Common; Musky—Common; Panfish—Common; not population counts.
Fisheries survey population estimates are published for this lake; survey estimates are historical point-in-time studies and are never compared or ranked here.
- Musky reproductive status (DNR mapped): Natural reproduction plus stocking (Cat. 2)
- Musky angling class — 2018 historical publication, not current status: Musky A1 — DNR trophy-water class
Fishing limits — 2026-2027 season: 19 normalized rows across 19 species entries. Normalized from the DNR ruleset retrieved 2026-08-04. Source text remains authoritative.
Fish species and abundance detail — load details
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Fisheries survey estimates — load details
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2026-2027 retained fishing rules: 19 published rows for 19 species; effective through 2027-03-07. Check current DNR rules.
Normalized fishing-regulation rows — load details
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Water and setting
- Field-measured summer Secchi clarity: median 9.4 ft from 8 samples, latest sample 2024-07-25
- Satellite clarity estimate: 6.98 ft (2017) — a remote-sensing estimate, kept separate from field measurements
Official DNR depth map (PDF) — Historical lake map; not for navigation. Link checked 2026-07-16.
- AIS record: Banded mystery snail — Verified, latest documented 2015-07-16
- AIS record: Chinese mystery snail — Verified, latest documented 2004-12-31
- AIS record: Purple loosestrife — Verified, latest documented 2015-07-13
- AIS record: Rusty crayfish — Verified, latest documented 1963-12-31
- AIS record: Yellow iris — Verified, latest documented 2015-07-16
Occurrence records come from a non-exhaustive DNR inventory; a record documents presence at observation time and a missing record is never evidence of absence.
- Public-land proximity (GIS proxy, not access evidence): mapped public land within 1,000 ft; nearest: Squirrel Lake Public Access (Wisconsin DNR); ≈2.4% of shoreline buffer
- Shoreline development (landcover proxy, 2025 source): ≈10.8% developed land within 300 m, ≈1.6% impervious
- Road proximity (TIGER proxy, 2025 source): nearest local road or city street ≈2 m; ≈2.6 km of road per km² within 1 km
- Priority Navigable Waterway — basis: musky area, walleye area
Designations are legally defined DNR records shown as their sources state them; no composite rating is implied.
Measured and satellite clarity records — load details
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Aquatic invasive species records — load details
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Data & sources
Published data families
- Fish species and abundance (DNR lake pages)
- Fishing regulations (normalized snapshot)
- Directory access facts (landing, beach, park)
- Public access site inventory
- Satellite water clarity estimate
- Field-measured Secchi clarity
- Fisheries survey population estimates
- Aquatic invasive species occurrences
Original records: Wisconsin DNR lake page.
Missing values are unpublished, never zero; each fact above is bounded to its named source and date. Full sourcing detail: Data & methods.