Big Cedar Lake vs Pike Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Big Cedar Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Pike Lake (B, Good). Both are in Washington County, Wisconsin.
Big Cedar Lake and Pike 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: Big Cedar Lake (A) and Pike 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.
Pike Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Big Cedar Lake | Pike Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 16.4 ft | 7 ft |
| Phosphorus | 14.1 µg/L | 19.3 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 105 ft | 45 ft |
| Surface Area | 937 acres | 461 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Big Cedar Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Pike Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 16.4 ft vs 7 ft. For fishing diversity, Big Cedar Lake also leads with 0 species.