Franklin Lake vs Pickerel Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Franklin Lake and Pickerel Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of B (Good). Both are in Forest County, Wisconsin.
Both Franklin Lake and Pickerel 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: Franklin Lake (B) and Pickerel 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.
Franklin Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16 ft down.
Pickerel Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 10 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Franklin Lake | Pickerel Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B (Good) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 16 ft | 10 ft |
| Phosphorus | 11.3 µg/L | 20.4 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 46 ft | 19 ft |
| Surface Area | 839 acres | 1,272 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 5 | 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 (Franklin Lake: 16 ft, Pickerel Lake: 10 ft) and what you want from the lake. Franklin Lake supports more documented fish species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.