Inch Lake

State Natural Area (No. 499)

Location: Bayfield County. T46N-R8W, 2, 3, 11; T47N-R8W, Sections 34, 35. 626 acres.

Access: From the intersection of US Highway 2 and County H in Iron River, go south on H about 6.5 miles, then south on Scenic Drive nearly 0.9 miles to a parking area east of the road. The footpath leads east to a carry-in canoe landing on the south shore of Inch Lake. See map for other access points.

Special Regulations apply to Inch Lake: Inch Lake is catch and release only. No use of live bait is permitted. Motors, including electric, are not permitted.

Description: Inch Lake SNA features two undeveloped lakes surrounded by wetlands and rolling upland forest. The property abuts the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest to the south. Inch Lake is a 31-acre undeveloped, soft-water seepage lake containing largemouth bass, yellow perch, and panfish. The 41-foot deep lake is classified as a “wild lake”, an increasingly uncommon feature as development pressure intensifies in northern Wisconsin. No motors are allowed and only artificial lures may be used. These special regulations will provide important research opportunities related to fishing. Surrounding the southern portion of Inch Lake is a diverse northern mesic forest dominated by red pine, red oak, and aspen. Canopy associates include white spruce, white pine, and paper birch. The shrub layer contains abundant American hazelnut and sugar maple saplings. Understory species include Indian pipe, sweet fern, interrupted fern, and blueberries. North of the lake is a northern dry-mesic forest dominated by large red pine and red oak with a diverse ground flora. Species include bracken fern, wood betony, big-leaved aster, thimbleberry, American starflower, and wild sarsaparilla. The site also features scattered wetland depressions vegetated with wool grass, leather leaf, and sphagnum moss. Hildur Lake is a 66-acre hard-water drainage lake on the lower end of the Pike Lake chain. The lake and associated spring pond are the headwaters of the White River. The lake bottom is primarily gravel with a few scattered areas of sand and muck. Fish include northern pike, largemouth bass, muskie, yellow perch, bluegill, and crappie. Surrounding the lake is a narrow band of leatherleaf and alder with uplands comprised of mixed northern hardwoods. Rolling topography to the east supports a northern dry-mesic forest dominated by red pine with red oak and sugar maple. In addition, this area contains a diversity of other natural community types including a small wetland that supports nesting common loons. Bald eagles also occur here. Inch Lake was donated to the DNR by Jill and Jerry Martin – their second donated State Natural Area property. In 2007, the adjacent Hildur Lake parcel was acquired by the West Wisconsin Land Trust and later donated to the DNR for incorporation into the State Natural Area Program. Acquisition was assisted by a partial donation from the Harris family. Inch Lake was designated a State Natural Area in 2006.