Buffalo Lake vs Lake Puckaway
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Lake Puckaway reads lower on nutrients and algae than Buffalo Lake. Both are in Wisconsin.
Both Buffalo Lake and Lake Puckaway sit in Wisconsin. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any differences in the readings here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies sampling them. The readings are close: Buffalo Lake and Lake Puckaway sit within a narrow band of each other on phosphorus, chlorophyll-a and clarity. The per-parameter table below shows where the small differences actually live.
With readings 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.
Buffalo Lake
Very murky, less than 2.5 ft of visibility.
Lake Puckaway
Murky, only visible to about 4.4 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Buffalo Lake | Lake Puckaway |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 2.5 ft | 4.4 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 125.5 µg/L | 52.1 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 8 ft Better | 5 ft |
| Surface Area | 2,179 acres | 5,013 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 5 | 6 Better |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | 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.
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Verdict
Buffalo Lake and Lake Puckaway read the same on nutrients and algae overall. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Buffalo Lake: 2.5 ft, Lake Puckaway: 4.4 ft) and what you want from the lake. Buffalo Lake has fewer fish species than Lake Puckaway.
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Where to stay near Buffalo Lake and Lake Puckaway
Compare cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals around Buffalo Lake and Lake Puckaway. Both lakes are pinned on the map, so you can see which stays sit nearer the one you pick. Switch to Satellite to see how close each is to the water.
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.