Bass Lake Property Owners Association
The landing is how every one of us gets on the water — and it is past due for real work. We're raising $40,000 to take it from a washed-out gravel approach to a proper concrete ramp running 50 feet into the lake.
Landing Fund
Last updated September 8, 2026. Every dollar goes to the landing — the association covers its own administrative costs.
Why now
Bass Lake has a single public access, and right now it is loose gravel over soft ground. Spring runoff cuts ruts into the approach, trailer tires dig in, and by August the last few feet before the water are the part everybody dreads — especially anyone launching alone or backing a pontoon down after dark.
Rather than patch it again this fall, the association's plan is to fix it once, in three phases, in the order that each phase makes the next one possible. Gravel first so trucks and equipment can get in. Then a poured pad at the top of the ramp. Then precast sections stepped out into the water until we have a hard surface a full 50 feet from the shoulder.
We can start Phase 1 the moment the fund clears its first milestone. The rest follows the money.
Built in order
Each phase is bid and built on its own, so nothing sits half-finished waiting on the next round of giving. When a milestone is met, that phase goes out for scheduling.
Regrade the approach, add fabric and class-5 base, and fix the drainage that keeps washing the shoulder out. This is also what gets the concrete truck down to the water's edge.
A poured, reinforced pad at the top of the ramp — wide enough for a truck and trailer to stay square, and the anchor the precast sections tie into.
Precast planks set and pinned below the waterline, carrying the hard surface out to a full 50 feet so launching doesn't depend on the lake level.
What it's worth
Only properties that touch the ordinary high-water mark carry riparian rights. Everyone else on Bass Lake — every lake-view and back-lot owner — reaches the water through the public landing. That makes the condition of this ramp a property-value question, not just a convenience one.
In Wisconsin, the gap between frontage and a view is not a small one. Statewide, true lakefront typically commands a 30% to 50% premium over a comparable home with only a view — and the reason is not the scenery. It's the access that comes with the deed.
What lakefront commands over a comparable lake-view home — the price of holding riparian rights.
Without frontage or deeded access, a lake-view parcel has no right to a dock or a moored boat. The public landing is the access.
That spread is exactly why the landing matters to everyone who isn't on the shoreline. Frontage is the one thing an off-water owner can never buy — but dependable, well-built access is the next closest thing, and it is the part of the gap this association can actually do something about.
So here is where it all lands. Frontage is worth a great deal because it guarantees access — and access is the one part of that equation a lake association can build. A rutted, washed-out ramp is the first thing a buyer sees and the last thing an off-water owner wants to explain. A hard, dependable 50-foot ramp turns "lake view" into a property you can actually use the lake from, and it protects the value of every parcel on Bass Lake, shoreline or not.
$40,000, split three ways, across one summer. That is the whole ask — and it is a small number next to what this lake is worth to the people who own on it.
Premium range: Lake Country Listings and Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty. A statewide market average — not an appraisal of any particular property, and not a Burnett County figure.
General information, not legal advice. Riparian rights, deeded access, and shoreland standards are governed by Wisconsin DNR rules and Burnett County zoning — confirm specifics for your parcel with the county or your attorney.
Ways to give
Any amount moves the meter. A $50 gift buys a load of base rock; $500 pours roughly a square yard of the pad; $1,000 sets a precast section.
Scan the code or tap through — it goes straight to the association's account.
Put “Boat landing” in the note so the treasurer can credit it to the right fund.
Rather write a check? Fill out a pledge and you'll get a slip to send along with it, so the treasurer can match your gift the day it arrives.
Questions
Hopkins Gravel is doing the work. They know this landing and this ground, and they'll carry the project through all three phases so the gravel base, the pad, and the precast sections tie together instead of being three separate jobs by three separate crews.
Yes — BLPOA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Keep your Venmo record or your cancelled check, and ask the treasurer for a written acknowledgment on any gift of $250 or more.
The phases are built in order and priced separately, so whatever is raised goes into the next phase the fund can cover. Nothing is started that can't be finished.
Phase 1 can be scheduled as soon as its milestone is met and the ground is workable. Concrete and precast work depend on both funding and the season.
A donation is money in hand today — Venmo it and it's done. A pledge tells the treasurer what's coming so the board can plan the next phase; you fill out the form, print the slip, and mail it with your check. Pledges are counted separately from money raised until the check clears.
No. The landing is public access — anyone who uses Bass Lake is welcome to give.
Your pledge tells the treasurer what's coming so the board can schedule the next phase. Nothing is charged here — you'll get a slip to mail with your check.
Your details go to the BLPOA treasurer only, so she can match your check when it arrives. Nothing is charged and nothing is shared.
Thank you — this is what gets the ramp built. Print this slip or take a screenshot, and send it along with your check.
✓ A copy has been sent to the treasurer.
Send it by email · Open in Gmail · or use Copy details below and paste it into a message.