Lower Pine Lake vs Pine Lake South Beach
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Lower Pine Lake and Pine Lake South Beach both received the same overall water quality grade of F (Very Poor). Both are in Hardin County, Wisconsin.
Lower Pine Lake and Pine Lake South Beach 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Lower Pine Lake (F) versus Pine Lake South Beach (F). 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.
Lower Pine Lake
Very murky, less than 1.3 ft of visibility.
Pine Lake South Beach
Very murky, less than 1.4 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Lower Pine Lake | Pine Lake South Beach |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | F (Very Poor) | F (Very Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 1.3 ft | 1.4 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 73.5 µg/L | No data |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 85 acres | 85 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | hypereutrophic | hypereutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade F. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Lower Pine Lake: 1.3 ft, Pine Lake South Beach: 1.4 ft) and what you want from the lake. Lower Pine Lake matches its peer on species count.