Lake Winnebago
Lake · Oshkosh, Wisconsin
The largest lake lying entirely within Wisconsin, roughly 137,000 acres of shallow water between Oshkosh, Neenah, Appleton and Fond du Lac, left behind by the same glacial advance that shaped the rest of the state. It is broad and shallow — averaging around fifteen feet — which makes it warm, productive and capable of turning genuinely dangerous in wind. It carries what is generally reckoned the largest self-sustaining lake sturgeon population in the world, and the winter spear fishery on its ice, run by the state under a strict quota, is unlike anything else in North America.
Lake Winnebago, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, 54901, United States
Open water, accessible year-round and free from public shore parks and launches. Swimming beaches are seasonal and largely unguarded. The sturgeon spearing season runs up to sixteen days from the second Saturday in February under a state quota that can close it early. High Cliff State Park requires a Wisconsin vehicle admission sticker.