Dorothy Lake features a diverse mosaic of natural communities and supports numerous rare plant and animal species. Dorothy Lake is a 5.2 acre soft-water seepage lake and supports an extremely diverse invertebrate fauna. A small, soft-water unnamed lake is found just north of Dorothy Lake in an open wetland with an intermittent outlet into Mud Creek. Two other unnamed lakes are located just south of Dorothy Lake, the smallest of which supports a high quality floating poor fen border. Surrounding the lakes is northern dry-mesic forest with mature white pine, red pine, and red oak. High quality wetlands between and adjacent to the lakes are rich in plant species diversity. Rare plants include Farewell's water-milfoil, hidden-fruited bladderwort, prickly hornwort, and white adder's-mouth. Dorothy Lake is owned by Chippewa County and was designated a State Natural Area in 2010.