Crescent Lake vs Pike Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Pike Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Crescent Lake (C, Fair). Both are in Cook County, Minnesota.
Both Crescent Lake and Pike Lake sit in Minnesota. 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 meaningfully apart: Pike Lake grades a A while Crescent Lake grades a C. That two-letter spread reflects real underlying differences — different watershed inputs, different depth profiles, or different monitoring rigor.
For a recreational visitor, the wider grade gap is decisive — Pike Lake is the better water-quality choice. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?
Crescent Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 8 ft.
Pike Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 17.4 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Crescent Lake | Pike Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | C (Fair) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 8 ft | 17.4 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | 7 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 28 ft | 45 ft |
| Surface Area | 755.48 acres | 814.43 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 10 | 7 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Pike Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Crescent Lake's Grade C. Water clarity: 17.4 ft vs 8 ft. For more fish-species variety, Crescent Lake edges ahead with 10 documented species.