Lake Macbride vs Pleasant Creek Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Pleasant Creek Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Lake Macbride. Both are in Iowa.
Lake Macbride and Pleasant Creek Lake are both in Iowa — 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 readings are close: Lake Macbride and Pleasant Creek 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.
Lake Macbride
Very murky, less than 2.9 ft of visibility.
Pleasant Creek Lake
Murky, only visible to about 3.6 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Lake Macbride | Pleasant Creek Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 2.9 ft | 3.6 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 59 µg/L | 38 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 28.5 µg/L | 26.5 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 950 acres | 410 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | 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.
Verdict
Lake Macbride and Pleasant Creek Lake read the same on nutrients and algae overall. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Lake Macbride: 2.9 ft, Pleasant Creek Lake: 3.6 ft) and what you want from the lake. Lake Macbride matches its peer on species count.
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Where to stay near Lake Macbride and Pleasant Creek Lake
Compare cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals around Lake Macbride and Pleasant Creek Lake. Both lakes are pinned on the map, so you can see which stays sit nearer the one you pick. Switch to Satellite to see how close each is to the water.
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.