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Big Arbor Vitae Lake

By Arbor Vitae. 1,070 acres, 41 feet at the deepest.

1,070acres
41 ftdeepest
18 ftaverage depth
2public boat landings

Ice on Big Arbor Vitae Lake

No ice reports from Big Arbor Vitae Lake in the last two weeks.

What folks saw out there, not the DNR. No ice is safe ice; check it yourself.

Send a report All ice reports

Fish

  • Plenty of: musky and walleye
  • Common: panfish and largemouth bass

How the DNR lists them. It doesn't say how the fishing is.

Boat landings

Water and bottom

  • Water: low
  • Bottom: 40% sand, 35% gravel, 10% rock, 15% muck
  • Kind of lake: a drainage lake: a stream runs in and out

Invasive species

The DNR has found banded mystery snail, Chinese mystery snail, curly-leaf pondweed, purple loosestrife and rusty crayfish here.

State law: before you leave the landing, pull off any plants and critters, drain all the water out of your boat, motor, livewell and buckets, and never move live fish away from the lake.

The DNR's boat and bait rules

Depth map

Wisconsin DNR lake survey map of Big Arbor Vitae Lake, with depth lines in feet

Wisconsin DNR lake survey map, mapped August 1971. Mind the north arrow; some of these old maps are turned sideways. It's old and not for navigation; shorelines and depths change. The DNR lists the lake at 1,070 acres today. The DNR's original (PDF)

Lake facts from the Wisconsin DNR's page for Big Arbor Vitae Lake, checked October 24, 2026.