Exploring Forest Lake

Hazy, but beautiful

Hazy, but beautiful

6/23/2023

I've admired Forest Lake from afar for some time now and after hearing about a recent clarity reading of 38', I made sure it was the first lake I visited this year.

About the Lake:
468 acres
6.2 miles of shoreline
5.26 acres/owner (lake density)
14.35 owners/miles of shoreline (lake density)
60' max depth
38' Clarity
Oligotrophic
Seepage

Forest Lake is located in Land O' Lakes and is one of a handful of very clear lakes in the area (Black Oak Lake, Big Portage Lake, and Lac du Lune are some of the others). The lake is appropriately named as it is surrounded by old growth forest. In fact, one of the reasons I love showing property on Forest Lake is that the roads around the lake are gorgeous as they are covered by the tree canopy. Buyers begin to fall in love with the location before they even arrive.

The launch is on the north side of the lake and it's a unique one.  When the water is high, the launch gets flooded and a big truck is a requirement to get a boat in and out.  This can make things difficult for those wanting to visit the lake, but I think the lake owners kind of like the challenging aspect of the launch because it deters the public a bit.  The water levels have dropped from their highs and while the launch is still flooded, we were able to launch our boat with our Subaru without a problem.

The lake is 468 acres. With islands and bays, there is a lot of character to the shoreline while the mass of the lake still allows for long lake views and open areas for boating.  Cruising the shoreline, there were a couple unique characteristics that jumped out at me.  1) Almost all properties are tucked in amongst the trees, which provides that Northwoods serenity feel when you're out on the water or looking across the lake. 2) There are some very, very nice properties on the lake.  Most of the homes seem to have wood siding with a dark stain.  From a distance they are hard to see, but when you're close you can see how impressive these homes are and how well-maintained the properties are.  Quiet elegance, I'd call it.  Pride of ownership is evident amongst those that live on Forest Lake and I can see why.  It's a pristine lake with a preserved shoreline.  It really captures the essence of the Northwoods and those looking for a peaceful setting.

What I was really excited about was dropping in the secchi disk and checking the clarity.  Last year, the association posted a clarity reading of 31.5' which was the highest it had ever been recorded.  This spring, they collected a reading of 38' which is just incredible!  To put it in perspective. Black Oak Lake is generally considered the clearest lake in the state and last year the clarity reading there was just under 30' so what they are finding at Forest Lake is very very exciting.

For me there was a slight breeze causing some wave action, I probably wasn't in the deepest part of the lake (where you are supposed to take the reading), and the reflection of the sun was hurting me more than helping me.  I still collected a 20' reading and in the video below, the disk can be seen all the way down to 25' (the end of my rope).  It's a wonderful thing to have water clarity like this as it is so inviting.  It's also pretty exciting for the clarity readings to be improving so quickly over the last few years.  This is similar to what Black Oak Lake experienced 10-15 years ago with a sudden spike in water clarity that made an already very clear lake into an extremely clear lake!

Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the key to my electric jet board so I wasn't able to cruise around the lake like I hoped.  However, I didn't pass up on the opportunity to go for a swim in the beautiful water.  

For anyone who appreciates the private and pristine aspects of the Northwoods, you would love to visit - or own property on - Forest Lake.  If you haven't already signed up to be notified of new property listings on the lake, you can do so here.  You may also feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the lake and it's features.

There are currently three listings on the lake.  One of the listings is a Gold Bar Realty listing that is an absolutely stunning legacy estate property with 450' of level frontage, 3 different dwellings and multiple garages.  Check out the listing and contact me for more information or to set up a viewing.

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