Green Lake vs Little Green Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Green Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Little Green Lake. Both are in Green Lake County, Wisconsin.
Green Lake and Little Green 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. Green Lake reads materially cleaner than Little Green Lake on nutrients and algae. A gap that wide is unlikely to close in a single year of remediation work; it reflects multi-decade differences in the lakes themselves.
For a recreational visitor, the wider gap in the readings is decisive: Green Lake has the lower nutrient and algae numbers. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?
Green Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13.5 ft.
Little Green Lake
Very murky, less than 3.2 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Green Lake | Little Green Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 13.5 ft Better | 3.2 ft |
| Phosphorus | 38.1 µg/L Better | 92.8 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 4.4 µg/L | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 236 ft Better | 28 ft |
| Surface Area | 7,920 acres | 462 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 7 Better | 5 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | 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.
Swap a lake
Compare Green Lake or Little Green Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Green Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Little Green Lake. Water clarity: 13.5 ft vs 3.2 ft. For fishing diversity, Green Lake also leads with 7 species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.