Lake Mendota vs Lake Waubesa
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Lake Waubesa reads lower on nutrients and algae than Lake Mendota. Both are in Dane County, Wisconsin.
Lake Mendota and Lake Waubesa 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. Lake Waubesa reads materially cleaner than Lake Mendota 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: Lake Waubesa 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?
Lake Mendota
Murky, only visible to about 5 ft.
Lake Waubesa
Very murky, less than 3.2 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Lake Mendota | Lake Waubesa |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 5 ft Better | 3.2 ft |
| Phosphorus | 65.4 µg/L | 36.6 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 83 ft Better | 38 ft |
| Surface Area | 9,781 acres | 2,074 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 8 Better | 7 |
| 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.
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Verdict
Lake Waubesa reads lower on nutrients and algae than Lake Mendota. Water clarity: 3.2 ft vs 5 ft. For more fish-species variety, Lake Mendota edges ahead with 8 documented species.
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Where to stay near Lake Mendota and Lake Waubesa
Compare cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals around Lake Mendota and Lake Waubesa. 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.
Top-rated places to stay near Lake Mendota and Lake Waubesa
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.