Beaver Dam Lake vs Fox Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Beaver Dam Lake and Fox Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of D (Nutrient-rich). Both are in Dodge County, Wisconsin.
Beaver Dam Lake and Fox Lake are both in Wisconsin — a same-state head-to-head where the comparison comes down to lake-specific differences in depth, watershed, and monitoring history rather than the broader state-level water-quality regime. The grades are close: Beaver Dam Lake (D) and Fox Lake (D) are within one letter of each other on our A–F scale. The per-parameter sub-grades below will show where the small differences actually live.
With grades this close, the choice between the two lakes turns on non-water-quality factors: depth, fish species, public access, distance from home. The per-lake pages below cover all of those.
Beaver Dam Lake
Very murky, less than 1 ft of visibility.
Fox Lake
Very murky, less than 2 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Beaver Dam Lake | Fox Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | D (Nutrient-rich) | D (Nutrient-rich) |
| Water Clarity | 1 ft | 2 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 230.5 µg/L | 102.4 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | - | 19 ft |
| Surface Area | 6,542 acres | 2,713 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 0 | 5 Better |
| Trophic State | hypereutrophic | eutrophic |
A green ✓ marks the better value for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better). Surface area and trophic state carry no tick — a bigger lake is not a better lake.
Swap a lake
Compare Beaver Dam Lake or Fox Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade D. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Beaver Dam Lake: 1 ft, Fox Lake: 2 ft) and what you want from the lake. Beaver Dam Lake has fewer fish species than Fox Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.