Wisconsin's Deepest Inland Lake Is A Crystal-Clear Midwest Gem To Swim And Scuba

When most people talk about scuba diving, they're usually referring to open ocean dives, but you'd be surprised at just how many lakes in America provide thrilling environments for swimming on or below the surface. The Midwest has numerous lakes where clear water and fascinating submerged structures (even shipwrecks) and marine life provide an enthralling underwater experience for newbies and veterans alike. One of these is Wazee Lake, part of the wider Wazee Lake Recreation Area, about a 10-minute drive from the riverside city of Black River Falls in Wisconsin.

Wazee's placid surface spreads out across more than 140 acres. This makes it a lot smaller than many other Midwest lakes, including the 94,000-acre Bull Shoals Lake, another crystal-clear lake and scuba diving paradise. However, it's the lake's depth that makes it so appealing for freshwater scuba diving. At its deepest point, Wazee Lake is over 350 feet, which means it's the deepest inland lake in the entire state. Greg Hoffman, a Wisconsin local writing for OnMilwaukee, makes the point that Wazee is a manmade lake created by restoring an old quarry. But he also writes that most divers don't care whether a lake is manmade or natural, just that it has good visibility and a vast underwater world to explore.

Wazee has both, offering visibility up to 40 feet on clear, summer days. All that visibility isn't any good if there's nothing to look at, but this isn't a problem either. Beneath the surface, you can see remains from the lake's former quarry days, including old roads. Recent scuba diving footage also shows divers encountering underwater training platforms, a fake pirate skeleton, and a sunken fishing boat. Fish cribs have also been installed around the lake, resulting in more rainbow trout, catfish, walleye, and smallmouth bass to see while diving.

Scuba diving isn't the only way you can enjoy a visit to Wazee Lake. The recreation area surrounding the lake also has around 15 miles of trails for hikers and cyclists. Multiple loop routes lead off from the campground on the lake's northeastern shore. The official Jackson County website has a map showing four main trails ranging from 2.3 miles to 5.5 miles long. These take you through the forests and fields around the lake, including some bridge creek crossings on the longest option, Porcupine Loop.

As far as swimming goes, the lake's small size and clear water make it a good family-friendly spot. It also has a sandy beach in the southeast corner, which visitors say is large enough to spread out and let little ones play, swim, and run about. "The lake isn't huge, but it's plenty big enough to enjoy with a kayak or a canoe, and it's really an ideal swimming beach for little kids," one traveler said on Tripadvisor. Motorboats aren't allowed on the water, which helps preserve the natural tranquility and water clarity. You can still launch a kayak or canoe if you want to fish in deeper water. An on-site kayak kiosk offers rentals if you don't have one.

Staying at Wazee Lake means roughing it in a tent at one of 12 campsites within the recreation area. At the time of writing, camping costs $20 per night, while diving costs $5 per day. If you don't want to camp, you could stay at a hotel in nearby Black River Falls or make the hour-long drive to La Crosse, Wisconsin's charming riverside college city with lush parks and cute shops. If Wazee is too small for your scuba diving ambitions, visit the 350-mile-long Lake Superior, the cleanest lake in America.