United States · US

Bittersweet Lake

Bittersweet Lake is a 104-acre seepage lake nestled within the Bittersweet Lakes State Natural Area in Vilas County, Wisconsin — one of four pristine soft-water lakes linked by short portages deep inside the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest. Designated a State Natural Area in 1958, this remote chain of lakes is entirely motor-free, offering paddlers, anglers, and hikers an unusually wild and quiet wilderness experience in the heart of Wisconsin's Northwoods. The lakes sit amid old-growth hemlock and yellow birch forest, rare aquatic plants, and bogs rich with leatherleaf and black spruce. Common loons nest along the shorelines and diving ducks use the lakes during migration. The fishery supports walleye, northern pike, largemouth and smallmouth bass, musky, and panfish — all reachable by paddle or portage from a single carry-in launch.