Little Gunflint Lake vs Pike Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Little Gunflint Lake and Pike Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Cook County, Minnesota.
Both Little Gunflint Lake and Pike Lake sit in Minnesota. 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 — Little Gunflint Lake (A) versus Pike Lake (A). 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.
Little Gunflint Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16.2 ft down.
Pike Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 17.4 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Little Gunflint Lake | Pike Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 16.2 ft | 17.4 ft |
| Phosphorus | 7 µg/L | 7 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 200 ft | 45 ft |
| Surface Area | 4.0K acres | 814.43 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 12 | 7 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Little Gunflint Lake: 16.2 ft, Pike Lake: 17.4 ft) and what you want from the lake. Little Gunflint Lake supports more documented fish species.