From the air, the north side of Three Lakes looks like someone spilled a bucket of water across the forest and the pieces stayed connected. That is the Three Lakes chain of lakes: 20 lakes inside the town, linked by channels and narrows, and joined at the far end to the Eagle River chain to make 28 connected lakes in all.
The chain is billed locally as the largest inland chain of freshwater lakes in the world. Whether or not you care about the title, it means you can launch a boat in Three Lakes and spend a whole day going somewhere without seeing the same shoreline twice.
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What the chain actually is
The Three Lakes chain is the upper half of the 28-lake Eagle River and Three Lakes chain, and it is officially a reservoir. The Wisconsin Valley Improvement Company runs the dam at its lower end to help regulate the Wisconsin River, which is why the chain also goes by the Burnt Rollways Reservoir on maps.
The Three Lakes side covers about 7,600 acres of water. Its 20 lakes range from about 123 acres to more than 1,000, with names like Big Stone, Big Fork, Big, Long, Laurel, Rangeline, Deer and Dog. Range Line Lake is one of the three lakes the town is named for.
The lower Eagle River chain sits about 11 feet lower. The two halves are connected by the Eagle River itself and by the boat hoist at the Burnt Rollways dam, which is the only way to move a boat between them without a trailer.
The Burnt Rollways boat hoist
The Burnt Rollways boat hoist lifts boats over the dam between the two chains, and it has done so since 1911. It sits at the north end of Long Lake, about 6.7 miles north of downtown Three Lakes in a straight line, on the Eagle River side of the boundary.
The hoist runs from May through September. It carries your boat out of the water and across a narrow strip of land, up into the Three Lakes chain or down into the Eagle River chain. The fee is $15 per boat one way, and its posted hours are Thursday to Sunday, 10 to 8.
It is one of the last working boat lifts of its kind, and it is worth a stop even without a boat. People picnic and fish by the dam and watch the boats go over.
The name comes from the logging era. In the late 1800s, loggers who had not been paid set fire to a pile of logs stacked on a wooden rollway above Nine Mile Creek, so their employer could not profit from them. The rollway burned, and the name stuck.
Renting a boat in Three Lakes
Three outfits in town rent boats, and between them they cover pontoons, fishing boats and jet skis. Book pontoons ahead for July weekends.
Stone Harbor and Anchor Marine sit close together on WI-32 near the golf course, so you can compare boats before you choose.
If you would rather pick up on US-45, about a mile south of downtown, The Boat House is the third option.
Some resorts also include a boat with the cabin. Hintz Cottages Resort on Big Stone Lake has a 14-foot fishing boat and a paddle boat for guests, and A Lot of Lakes Resort rents pontoons on site.
Big Stone Lake and the ski show
Big Stone Lake is the busiest corner of the chain in summer, east of downtown off WI-32, with the marinas, the golf course and the campground all close by.
For campers, Three Lakes Campground has a beach and a boat launch on Big Stone. It is mostly seasonal RV sites, with a few overnight spots and a cabin, and no tent camping.
Rules of the water
Wisconsin boating law applies on the chain, and a few rules catch visitors out. Slow to no wake within 100 feet of shore, docks, piers and rafts, which on the narrow channels between lakes means most of the way through them. Personal watercraft have to keep to slow no wake within 200 feet of shore.
Anyone born on or after January 1, 1989 needs a boating safety certificate to operate a motorboat in Wisconsin, and that includes rented pontoons. Ask the marina what they need from you when you book.
When you pull a boat or kayak out, drain the water and clear off any plants before you move to another lake. It is the law here, and it is how the chain stays clear of invasive species.
Fishing the chain
Fishing is still one of the main reasons people come to the Three Lakes chain, and it brings in anglers who drive up for that alone. Musky and walleye are the headline fish, with bass, northern pike and panfish throughout.
Big Fork Lake has a reputation for musky and walleye, with bays that are also good for tubing. Laurel Lake is smaller and quieter, the one anglers pick for a calm day. Big Lake and Big Stone Lake are both counted among the best fishing lakes in the Northwoods by the county tourism office.
You need a Wisconsin fishing license, and size and bag limits can differ lake by lake, so check the current DNR regulations before you keep fish. Stone Harbor's store sells bait and tackle, and local fishing reports are the best guide to where the fish are that week.
Lunch by boat
Several of the chain's restaurants are set up for people arriving by water, which makes a boat day easy to plan.
Pine Isle Lodge is the boat-up bar most people mean when they talk about lunch on the chain, with cheese curds and pizza on a lakefront deck. Sunset Grill on WI-32 does breakfast and ice cream on the water, and SpiritView Lakeside has a patio over Spirit Lake.
Pine Isle opens Thursday to Sunday, and the lake kitchens run seasonal hours. Restaurants in Three Lakes are laid out with their days and hours, so you do not pull up to a closed dock.
A first day on the chain
If you have one day and no boat of your own, here is a simple plan that uses the chain well.
Pick up a pontoon on Big Stone Lake in the morning and spend a few hours working through the connected lakes at an easy pace. Stop for lunch at Pine Isle if it is a Thursday to Sunday. On a Wednesday or Saturday, bring the boat back in time for the ski show at 6:30, and finish with dinner at SpiritView.
For the history behind the old resorts and boathouses you pass, the Three Lakes Historical Society runs narrated boat tours of the chain for its members each summer. Membership is the ticket, and the museum on Huron Street can tell you how to join.
Staying on the water
Many visitors book a cottage on the chain so the boat can sit at their own pier. Big Stone Lake has a cluster of them.
Hintz Cottages Resort sits directly on Big Stone Lake, with four piers and swim rafts. A Lot of Lakes Resort has five lodges on the same lake, and Stone Lake Resort is close by on Golf Course Loop.
Away from Big Stone, lodging in Three Lakes runs from an indoor-pool resort to a downtown motel, and it books early for July.
The chain through the seasons
The chain's boating season runs roughly from late spring, once the ice is out, through September, which is also when the hoist closes. July is the busy month on the water.
Because the chain is a working reservoir, the dam operator manages the water level for the Wisconsin River downstream, and it is not the same in every month. If you are visiting, it just means a beach or a launch can look different in May than in August.
In winter the lakes freeze and ice fishing takes over. Never go out on the ice without checking local conditions that week. Ice-out in spring and cold nights in fall both follow the seasons in Three Lakes, so check the averages before you book an early or late trip.
Wildlife on the water
Spend a day on the chain and you will almost certainly see loons, and probably bald eagles and great blue herons. Deer come down to the shoreline in the early morning and evening.
Loons are easy to disturb when they are nesting. Give them space, slow down near the shore, and keep wakes down in the narrow channels between lakes.
Another chain up north
If one chain is not enough, the Cisco Chain sits on the Michigan border near Land O' Lakes, which is about 23 miles north in a straight line. It is a separate chain, with its own lakes and its own character.
For everything off the water, the full list of things to do in Three Lakes starts downtown, about 2 miles from the campground launch on Big Stone.
Frequently asked questions
Published September 21, 2026
