Big Cedar Lake vs Big Cedar Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Big Cedar Lake and Big Cedar Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of B (Good). Both are in Washington County, Wisconsin.
Both Big Cedar Lake and Big Cedar Lake sit in Wisconsin. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any grade differences here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies grading them. The grades are close: Big Cedar Lake (B) and Big Cedar Lake (B) are within one letter of each other on the LakeGrade rubric. 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.
Big Cedar Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16.4 ft down.
Big Cedar Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 9.8 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Big Cedar Lake | Big Cedar Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B (Good) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 16.4 ft | 9.8 ft |
| Phosphorus | 14.1 µg/L | 15.7 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 105 ft | 105 ft |
| Surface Area | 937 acres | 937 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 4 | 4 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade B. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Big Cedar Lake: 16.4 ft, Big Cedar Lake: 9.8 ft) and what you want from the lake. Big Cedar Lake matches its peer on species count.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.