The river then flows northeast and empties into Green Bay and serves as part of the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway.

[6] In 1634, the French encountered the Ho-Chunk on the shores of Green Bay, inhabiting the area stretching to Lake Winnebago.

[9][10] Lake Winnebago is not man-made, but its level was raised about three feet (0.9 m) by two dams on either side of Doty Island, erected in 1850 and 1930.

The lake level is today regulated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to meet demands for flood control, to reduce ice damage to private property, to release water for hydropower and pollution dilution downstream, and to extend the high water season for boating.

This lock system is located along the lower Fox River and starts at the northwest corner of Lake Winnebago in the city of Menasha and ends at the mouth of Green Bay.

A 1989 survey of boating intensity by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources ranked the Winnebago Pool as the state's busiest inland waterway, surpassing the Mississippi River.

Effigy mounds overlook the lake at High Cliff and Calumet County Park.

The Fond du Lac River enters Lake Winnebago on the eastern border of the park.

In June 2010, Oshkosh hosted an event recognized by Guinness World Records as history's largest fishing tournament.

[4] Expansion cracks on the ice are bridged, and many cities along the east and west shores plow roads on the icy surface.

The setting for Dr. Seuss's classic children's book Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose is "Lake Winna-Bango" on the "far northern shore."