Franklin Lake vs Pickerel Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Franklin Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Pickerel Lake. 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 differences in the readings here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies sampling them. The readings are close: Franklin Lake and Pickerel Lake 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 16 ft Better | 10 ft |
| Phosphorus | 11.3 µg/L Better | 20.4 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 46 ft Better | 19 ft |
| Surface Area | 839 acres | 1,272 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 5 Better | 4 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | mesotrophic |
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
Franklin Lake and Pickerel Lake read the same on nutrients and algae overall. 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.
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Where to stay near Franklin Lake and Pickerel Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.