Hiddenwood Lake vs Lake Darling
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Hiddenwood Lake has a higher water quality grade (C, Fair) than Lake Darling (D, Poor). Both are in Ward County, Wisconsin.
Hiddenwood Lake and Lake Darling are both in North Dakota — 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. The grades are close: Hiddenwood Lake (C) and Lake Darling (D) 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.
Hiddenwood Lake
Very murky, less than 3.1 ft of visibility.
Lake Darling
Murky, only visible to about 5.8 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Hiddenwood Lake | Lake Darling |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | C (Fair) | D (Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 3.1 ft | 5.8 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | 395 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 4.8 µg/L | 9 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 131 acres | 9.7K 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
Hiddenwood Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade C versus Lake Darling's Grade D. Water clarity: 3.1 ft vs 5.8 ft. For fishing diversity, Hiddenwood Lake also leads with 0 species.