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LakeQuality

Big Roche A Cri Lake vs Friendship Lake

Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.

Big Roche A Cri Lake has a higher water quality grade (B, Good) than Friendship Lake (C, Fair). Both are in Adams County, Wisconsin.

Big Roche A Cri Lake and Friendship 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 Roche A Cri Lake (B) and Friendship Lake (C) 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.

B

Big Roche A Cri Lake

Adams County, Wisconsin

Good clarity, visible to about 10 ft.

C

Friendship Lake

Adams County, Wisconsin

Murky, only visible to about 4 ft.

Side-by-Side Metrics

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

MetricBig Roche A Cri LakeFriendship Lake
Overall GradeB (Good)C (Fair)
Water Clarity10 ft4 ft
Phosphorus22.3 µg/L31 µg/L
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No dataNo data
Maximum Depth--
Surface Area204 acres114 acres
Public AccessUnknownUnknown
Fish Species00
Trophic Statemesotrophiceutrophic

Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).

Verdict

Big Roche A Cri Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade B versus Friendship Lake's Grade C. Water clarity: 10 ft vs 4 ft. For fishing diversity, Big Roche A Cri Lake also leads with 0 species.