by WisCartography

Wilke Lake

About this Map

This map of Wilke Lake captures a compact but beautifully defined lake surrounded by the rural landscape of western Manitowoc County. Detailed bathymetric contours reveal the shape of the lake bottom, including a broad central basin, gently changing underwater slopes, and a deeper pocket reaching approximately 21 feet in the eastern portion of the lake. Lake-bottom characteristics are also identified, while individual buildings, roads, wooded areas, wetlands, and the many homes and cottages around the shoreline give the map a strong sense of place.

At approximately 93 acres, Wilke Lake is one of Manitowoc County’s smaller inland lakes, and I think that compact size lends itself especially well to this kind of detailed mapping. The public boat ramp is shown along the southwestern shore near Vogel Lane and Henning Road, while Sunny Vista Lane and Karstaedt Road wind through the more developed eastern side of the lake. Small ponds, streams, and wetlands around the shoreline contrast nicely with the surrounding farmland and open countryside.

I really like how this Wilke Lake map turned out. It feels well-balanced and easy on the eyes. As I write this, I’m actually holding a print in my hand, and the colors came out just as I had hoped. Sometimes there’s a difference between how a map looks on a computer screen and how it feels as a finished print, and I think this one works particularly well on paper.

One detail I debated while making the map was whether to include a Muskellunge in the “fish present” illustrations. The Wisconsin DNR lists Musky as present in Wilke Lake, while information from the Manitowoc County Lakes Association paints a somewhat different picture. The lake’s 2021 Comprehensive Lake Management Plan notes that hybrid Muskellunge were stocked here in the past, but apparently not since the late 1980s.

Today, the fishery consists primarily of panfish and also includes Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, and stocked Walleye. In the end, I decided to leave the Musky illustration on the map as a small nod to the lake’s fishing history. Maybe you won’t find one lurking beneath the boat today, but the fish were once part of Wilke Lake’s story, and I liked the idea of preserving that bit of history on the map.

Between its bathymetry, shoreline homes, wetlands, quiet country roads, surrounding farmland, and even that little piece of fishing history, Wilke Lake made for an enjoyable map to put together. It’s a relatively small lake, but there’s plenty of detail here to explore.