Little Lake Butte des Morts
about little lake butte des morts
Little Lake Butte des Morts is a shallow drainage lake located in Winnebago County. The lake has a maximum depth of 18 ft and over 12 miles of shoreline, covering 1,200 surface acres. Little Lake Butte des Morts begins at the outflows of Lake Winnebago at the Neenah and Menasha dams, and as water flows north, the lake narrows and transitions into the Lower Fox River at the Appleton dam.
The name “Butte des Morts” was given by French settlers, and means “Hill of the Dead” in reference to a nearby Indian burial mound. The lake is located in an urbanized area where 64,557 residents live in its vicinity in the cities of Neenah, Menasha, and the Village of Fox Crossing. Little Lake Butte des Morts is heavily used for fishing, boating, and swimming by shoreline property owners and residents of the broader region. Popular fish for recreational fishing include panfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, walleye, and catfish. The lake can be accessed from land by two public boat landings.
The Roland Kampo Memorial Bridge which carries the Wisconsin highways 441 and 10 crosses the lake. The Fox Cities Trestle Bridge, an abandoned rail trail also crosses the lake which carries the Loop the Little Lake and Friendship State pedestrian and bike trails. Loop the Little Lake is a popular 3.5-mile path that connects three communities: the Village of Fox Crossing, the City of Menasha, and the City of Neenah. This route is perfect for biking or walking, offering beautiful views of Little Lake Butte des Morts and creating convenient pathways for both commuting and leisure. “The Loop” includes off-road trails for bikes and pedestrians, as well as four trestle bridges of varying lengths and sections with bike lanes and sidewalks on the road. Along the route, you’ll find four parks with restroom facilities, plus one natural park area to explore.
the challenge
While Little Lake Butte des Morts provides great value to residents and visitors alike in its opportunities for recreation, there is opportunity for improvement. Lake users frequently report algae blooms, a nuisance levels of aquatic plant growth, and invasive species. Fluctuating water flow and levels impact recreational use and accessibility and contribute to shoreline erosion. Excess phosphorus and sediment enter the lake from various sources such as runoff from farm fields, residential streets and lawns, and wastewater, negatively impacting fish and aquatic life as well as recreational activities.
Many waterbodies in northeast Wisconsin have been studied and are actively managed to address these issues, while Little Lake Butte des Morts has been mostly overlooked at the scale needed to make significant improvements. The lack of recent publicly available water quality information, lake maps, aquatic plant surveys, and shoreline condition inventories for Little Lake Butte des Morts impede the ability to take action to improve water quality.
taking action
In 2023, recognizing the need to take action, the City of Neenah, with support from Fox-Wolf, organized a group of collaborators and funders to take action. The project, which ran until spring of 2025, developed an aquatic plant management strategy and phase 1 action plan, outlining immediate actions to be taken to manage aquatic plants near Arrowhead Park. It also made recommendations for long term mangement of the lake, including the formation of a citizen-led lake association.
