Hamilton Lake vs Pony Express Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Hamilton Lake and Pony Express Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of D (Poor). Both are in Wisconsin.
Both Hamilton Lake and Pony Express Lake sit in Missouri. 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Hamilton Lake (D) versus Pony Express Lake (D). The deciding factors for a recreational visitor are likely physical (depth, access, fish species) rather than water-quality differences.
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.
Hamilton Lake
No clarity data.
Pony Express Lake
Very murky, less than 1.3 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Hamilton Lake | Pony Express Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | D (Poor) | D (Poor) |
| Water Clarity | No data | 1.3 ft |
| Phosphorus | 64.2 µg/L | 53.2 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 20.7 µg/L | 26.3 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 76 acres | 164 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade D. The tiebreakers come down to what you want from the lake. Hamilton Lake matches its peer on species count.