Lake Arbutus

Why people love it here

• Sand beaches on a flowage — two of them, per the DNR — plus six public boat landings, which is a lot of access for 774 acres.
• A real fishery: musky, walleye, both bass, northern pike, and panfish on the DNR’s list.
• Pine-country setting: the lake sits where farm country turns to forest, and the shoreline feels like up north without the up-north drive.
• Hatfield does lake life the old way — supper-club country, resort cabins, and a town that knows its lake.

The Black River, widened

Lake Arbutus is the Black River held wide — a flowage created where the river meets the dam at Hatfield, in the pine-and-sand country between Neillsville and Black River Falls. Generations of central-Wisconsin families have summered here; the Lake Arbutus Association keeps the tradition organized, from water quality to the social calendar.

For buyers, Arbutus is the Black River Falls area’s lake — the water that pairs with the state forest, Wazee Lake’s deep quarry water, and Jackson County’s recreational land.

The homes & cabins

Classic lake-country stock: resort-era cabins, updated cottages, and year-round homes mixed around the shore, with the village of Hatfield at the lake’s south end for basics. As a flowage, frontage ranges from sandy and swimmable to quiet back-bays — walk the lot, don’t trust the listing adjective.

What to watch for

• Flowage water levels move with dam operations and season — ask about dock and shoreline history at the lot.
• Septic and well records on older cabins — pull them from the county.
• Which county a property sits in (Clark vs. Jackson) — taxes, zoning, and services differ.
• Winter access and plowing on the shore roads.

Schools & services

Shore addresses are served by the Black River Falls and Neillsville school districts depending on location. Confirm the assignment for any specific address with the district before you buy.

On the water

• Two public beaches and six landings (WI DNR) — swimming and launching are easy here.
• Musky and walleye water with a local association that stocks, monitors, and advocates.
• Hatfield for basics; Black River Falls 15 minutes south for the full run of services.
• Black River State Forest and Wazee Lake are the lake’s next-door neighbors for land days.

The market, honestly

Arbutus trades as central-Wisconsin lake property — a step below the northwest trophy lakes on price, with the flowage caveat priced in. The value is real: 774 acres, beaches, and a fishery, an hour from Eau Claire. Carter can pull recent Arbutus sales plus the Black River Falls land market so you see the whole picture.

Who it fits — and the honest trade-offs

Showing-day checklist

• Ask about water-level history at the exact lot.
• Walk the frontage: sand, muck, or rock?
• Pull septic and well records.
• Check winter access and plowing.
• Confirm the county — and the school district — for the address.

Good next step

Tour Arbutus with the Black River Falls guide in hand — most buyers here are choosing a lake-and-land combination. Carter can run both markets in one trip.

Sources: Wisconsin DNR — Arbutus Lake lake page (774 acres, 50 ft max depth, 6 landings, 2 beaches) · Lake Arbutus Association · Jackson County · Clark County · Jackson County — 2025 Jackson County Mill Rates · Wisconsin Department of Revenue — 2025 Statement of Taxes (Clark County) This guide is a starting point, not a statement about every property. Verify schools, taxes, zoning, shoreline rules, water and septic systems, rental rules, and other priorities for a specific address before you buy.

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How to shop a flowage, lot by lot

Arbutus rewards buyers who slow down at the shoreline. Frontage here ranges from sandy and swimmable to quiet back-bays, and two lots on the same road can fish, swim, and launch very differently. Walk the frontage at every property and name what you are actually standing on — sand, muck, or rock — because that, more than the listing adjective, decides how your family will use the water. If swimming matters most, spend time at the lake’s two public beaches to see the best of what this sand country offers; if quiet matters most, a back-bay lot may suit you better than the open shore, even at a lower price.

Then ask the flowage questions, the same ones at every lot, so your comparisons stay honest. What is the water-level history at this exact lot, and what do the dock and shoreline history say about it? What do the county’s septic and well records show on an older cabin? Which county does the property sit in — Clark or Jackson — since taxes, zoning, and services differ? And how does winter access and plowing work on that shore road? None of these questions is a reason to walk away from Arbutus; they are simply the price of buying a river held wide, and a lot that answers them well is worth more than one that has never been asked.

Finally, think in combinations, the way most buyers here actually do. Arbutus pairs with the Black River State Forest and Wazee Lake next door for land days, with Hatfield at the lake’s south end for basics, and with Black River Falls, 15 minutes south, for the full run of services. A good tour here covers a lake-and-land combination, not just a cabin — and Carter can run both markets in one trip, pulling recent Arbutus sales plus the Black River Falls land market so you see the whole picture before you offer.

Taxes & total cost

The short version: On Arbutus, the county line decides the bill — two cabins at the same price can pay noticeably different taxes. The worked example below uses the Jackson County side: about $375 a month on a $250,000 property.

Arbutus has no single tax rate, and any guide that gives you one is guessing. The lake sits on the Jackson–Clark county line, so shore properties sit in either county — and, as this guide’s FAQ says, taxes differ between them. Start on the Jackson County side, at Hatfield, the lake’s south-end community in the Town of Komensky. On Jackson County’s published 2025 mill rates, a Komensky parcel in the Black River Falls school district pays a net rate of $18.02 per $1,000 of assessed value. A mill is simple math: $1 of tax for every $1,000 of value — figured on the assessor’s value, not the sale price. Assessed value is supposed to track market value but can sit above or below it; the county sheet puts Komensky’s assessment level at about 60% of market value, so here the gap between the two numbers can be wide.

Where the dollar goes on the Clark County side, in the Town of Dewhurst — which holds the lake’s northern half — the Wisconsin Department of Revenue’s 2025 Statement of Taxes splits Dewhurst’s total levy like this:

• Clark County — about 47% of the total, the largest single piece
• School districts — about 44% combined (the Neillsville district covers most of the town; the Black River Falls district a small piece — which one taxes your parcel depends on where it sits)
• Technical colleges (Chippewa Valley and Western) — about 5%
• Town of Dewhurst — about 5%

So on the Clark side the county levy is the biggest driver, just ahead of the schools — and everywhere around this lake, the school district line is the swing factor: in Komensky alone, a Black River Falls district parcel pays $18.02 per $1,000 while a Blair-Taylor district parcel pays $21.07.

Run the Jackson-side example on a $250,000 property. This example treats the price as the property’s assessed value, just to keep the math clean. Step 1: the value is $250,000. Step 2: $250,000 ÷ 1,000 × $18.02 = about $4,510 a year. Step 3: $4,510 ÷ 12 = about $375 a month. A Clark-side property will come out different — different county, different town, possibly a different school district.

That is the gross figure, and the real check is smaller. Wisconsin’s lottery and gaming credit and first dollar credit come off after the bill is calculated. The rate also leaves out special charges and assessments, which ride on the bill separately. And your parcel’s actual assessment may land above or below the $250,000 in this example, which moves the bill with it.

The lesson is the one this guide repeats: on Arbutus, two cabins at the same price can carry noticeably different tax bills because of which side of an invisible line they sit on. Confirm the county and the school district for the specific address before you buy — then budget roughly $375 a month for taxes on a Jackson-side property like the example, alongside your mortgage payment and insurance.

See how all 28 areas compare: Chippewa Valley property taxes, side by side.

Questions cabin buyers ask