Butternut Lake & Park Falls Area Guide

Eagle Pointe Lodging sits on 13 acres with 1,000 feet of shoreline on Butternut Lake. The cabins have private docks, fire pits, grills, and full kitchens. Musky Haven is the dog-friendly 2-bedroom cabin. The Lake House is a 3-bedroom, 2-bath A-frame that sleeps eight. Lakeside and Honeymoon are seasonal and reopen at fishing opener. There is a 3-night minimum, trailer parking on the property, and kayaks and life jackets at the boathouse.

We are minutes from Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest and county forest, about a half-mile from ATV/UTV trail access, and on a snowmobile route that runs on the lake when ice and conditions allow. Park Falls is about a 10-minute drive. This page collects the official sources we trust, plus a few local tips. Regulations, trail reports, and restaurant hours change — please confirm before you head out.

Fishing on Butternut Lake

Butternut Lake (WBIC 2283300) straddles the Ashland–Price County line just north of Park Falls. It is a 983-acre drainage lake, 32 feet at its deepest and about 14 feet on average, with low water clarity and a mostly sand bottom. The Wisconsin DNR lists musky and walleye as abundant, panfish as common, and largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, and sturgeon as present. Do not confuse this lake with other Wisconsin waters also named Butternut.

Wisconsin’s general inland season opens Saturday, May 2, 2026. On this lake, the 2026–27 rules that matter most for guests are:

• Walleye, sauger, and hybrids: May 2, 2026 – March 7, 2027. No minimum length, but only 1 fish over 14 inches; daily bag 3.
• Muskellunge and hybrids: May 2, 2026 – December 31, 2026, on open water. 40-inch minimum; daily bag 1.
• Panfish: Open all year; no minimum length; daily bag 25.
• Northern pike: May 2, 2026 – March 7, 2027; no minimum length; daily bag 5.
• Smallmouth bass: Catch-and-release only May 2 – June 19, 2026; harvest with largemouth (14-inch minimum, bag 5 combined) June 20, 2026 – March 7, 2027.
• Motor trolling is allowed with up to 3 hooks, baits, or lures per angler.

Lake sturgeon has a short hook-and-line harvest window and separate catch-and-release periods, plus tagging and registration rules. Most guests are not targeting sturgeon — please read the DNR regulation page rather than relying on a summary. Statewide season dates: dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Fishing/seasons.

There is no official weekly fishing report written just for Butternut Lake. The DNR’s Wisconsin Fishing Report is an annual forecast, not a weekly hook-and-line report, and the 2026 edition does not include a dedicated write-up for this lake. The most reliable planning tools are the DNR lake page, the current regulation sheet, and same-week conditions from people on the water — including our office at 715-762-4857 and Bridge Bait.

Please help limit aquatic invasives already recorded here, including rusty crayfish, purple loosestrife, yellow iris, mystery snails, and non-native ornamental water lilies. Clean, drain, and dry boats, trailers, and equipment.

Hunting

Guests hunt public land — Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest and nearby county forest — not a private hunt club at the resort. You need a current Wisconsin license, you must follow the current Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) on national forest roads, and you should confirm season dates on the DNR site before you travel.

Statewide dates for 2026 (subject to change; some units differ):

• Archery / crossbow deer: September 12, 2026 – January 3, 2027 (later in some metro or extended counties)
• Gun deer: November 21–29, 2026
• Muzzleloader: November 30 – December 9, 2026
• December 4-day antlerless-only: December 10–13, 2026
• Ruffed grouse Zone A: September 12, 2026 – January 3, 2027

Official sources:

• WI DNR season dates and application deadlines
• WI DNR deer hunting (season structure, DMUs, and current deer rules)
• Go Wild for licenses and permits
• Chequamegon-Nicolet maps and guides (visitor maps, hunter walking trails, aspen age-class maps, and Park Falls / Medford Ranger District materials)
• Interactive Motor Vehicle Use Maps and the MVUM PDF downloads (the posted “MVUM – Park Falls” edition as of our November 2026 check was dated May 20, 2025 — download it from the Forest Service, not a third-party copy)
• Forest Service hunting and shooting rules — hunting on the forest follows Wisconsin DNR seasons and licenses, plus forest-specific rules such as MVUM compliance, no motor vehicles behind closures, blind and live-tree restrictions, and a 150-yard firearm discharge setback from campgrounds and developed sites

ATV/UTV & snowmobile trails

ATV and UTV trail access is about a half-mile from the property. In winter, a snowmobile trail runs on Butternut Lake, with access from the property, when ice and official trail conditions allow. We do not post “trails are open” or a live ice-thickness number on this site. Check a current official report, and call us at 715-762-4857 or Bridge Bait before you ride or walk out.

Snowmobile and ice conditions

• Fifield Sno Drovers trail reports — the most detailed local snowmobile report, covering Price County trails by corridor. In season the club typically posts weekly. As of early November 2026 the last posted report was still the March 6, 2026 county-wide closure (off-season).
• Park Falls Area Chamber trail reports and the Chamber’s snowmobiling overview
• Phillips Chamber trail-report hub
• Travel Wisconsin snowmobile conditions — statewide volunteer reports
• Price County official snowmobile trail maps (maps, not a live conditions feed)
• Wisconsin DNR ice safety — the DNR does not monitor local ice thickness. There is no such thing as 100% safe ice.

ATV / UTV maps

• Price County official ATV/UTV trails and maps — there is no live ATV conditions report on the county site
• Enjoy Price County trail maps

County and tourism trail-map pages cannot be embedded in this website; the links above open the official sources.

Butternut Lake Weather

A live forecast for Butternut Lake (about 45.968°N, 90.519°W), with wind, temperature in °F, wind in mph, and precipitation in inches. Use the forecast panel on the map for the coming days. This does not replace the official National Weather Service forecast linked below.

National Weather Service 7-day forecast for Butternut Lake · text-only forecast. The NWS point forecast is for “3 Miles SSW Butternut WI.”

Snowmobile and ice conditions

We do not post “trails are open” or a live ice-thickness number on this site. Check a current official report, and call us at 715-762-4857 or Bridge Bait before you ride or walk out. The Wisconsin DNR does not monitor local ice thickness.

• Fifield Sno Drovers trail reports — the most detailed local snowmobile report for Price County corridors
• Park Falls Area Chamber trail reports and the Chamber’s snowmobiling overview
• Phillips Chamber trail-report hub
• Travel Wisconsin snowmobile conditions — statewide volunteer reports
• Price County official snowmobile trail maps (maps, not a live conditions feed)
• Wisconsin DNR ice safety

Events

The best official calendars are the Park Falls Area Chamber events list and Enjoy Price County events. Enjoy Price County is a joint marketing effort of Price County and the Park Falls and Phillips Chambers. Those calendars cannot be embedded on this site, so we link out and list a few confirmed 2026 highlights from the Chamber’s 2026 events post. Please confirm dates before you plan around them.

• Community Garage & Sidewalk Sales — June 19–21, 2026
• Flambeau Rama — July 31 – August 2, 2026, Park Falls’ signature summer festival. 2026 schedule page (the URL path still says 2025; the page itself is the 2026 schedule)
• Evergreen 5K — Saturday, August 1, 2026
• Tour De Flambeau — September 5–6, 2026
• Fright Fest — Saturday, October 24, 2026
• Turkey Trot 5K — Thursday, November 26, 2026
• Shop Local — November 27 – December 18, 2026
• Deck the Halls — Saturday, November 28, 2026, 5:30–7:30 p.m., Old Abe Memorial Park (parade of lights and tree lighting; listed as free)

The City of Park Falls has also noted a weekly farmers market on Wednesdays at the Christ the Servant Church (Hwy 13 South) parking lot. Hours can change, so check with the Chamber or the city before you go. The Village of Butternut’s website was not reliably available when this page was researched, so we are not publishing Pioneer Days dates from that source.

Dining

You do not have to drive far for a good meal. Several restaurants sit on or very near Butternut Lake, the Village of Butternut is about 10–15 minutes north, and Park Falls is about 10 minutes east. Our full restaurant guide covers supper clubs, Friday fish fries, breakfast cafés, pizza, coffee, and winter-friendly spots, with addresses, phones, and what reviewers have been saying.

A few favorites to start with (hours change seasonally — call ahead):

Also nearby on the lake: Bobber’s On The Lake for casual fish fry, pizza, and burgers. See the full restaurant guide for Park Falls pizza and pubs, coffee shops, Phillips and Glidden options, and a destination brewpub in Ashland.

Getting here

Eagle Pointe Lodging is at N16469 Preisler Lane, Butternut, WI 54514, about three miles west of Park Falls. From Park Falls, head north to Lake Shore Drive and follow it about three miles to Preisler Lane. The last stretch is a county / township road; allow a little extra time after dark or in snow.

Approximate drive times to the cabins in normal conditions (weather, construction, and the last rural miles can add time):

• Minneapolis–St. Paul: about 3½ hours
• Madison: about 5 hours
• Milwaukee: about 5 hours
• Chicago: about 6 hours

There is trailer parking at the property. Park Falls has groceries (including Super One on 4th Avenue South), fuel, and a hardware store. The Village of Butternut has a Dollar General and a gas station. The nearest commercial airports are typically Rhinelander (RHI) and, for more flights, Minneapolis–St. Paul (MSP) or Central Wisconsin (CWA).