John Lake vs Pleasant Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Pleasant Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than John Lake. Both are in Wright County, Minnesota.
Both John Lake and Pleasant Lake sit in Minnesota. 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: John Lake and Pleasant 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.
John Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 8 ft.
Pleasant Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11.5 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | John Lake | Pleasant Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 8 ft | 11.5 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 22 µg/L | 17 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 7.3 µg/L | 2.9 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 28 ft | 74 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 397 acres | 597 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 13 | 15 Better |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | 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
Pleasant Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than John Lake. Water clarity: 11.5 ft vs 8 ft. For fishing diversity, Pleasant Lake also leads with 15 species.
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Where to stay near John Lake and Pleasant Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.