Pike Lake vs Rose Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Pike Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Rose Lake (B, Good). Both are in Cook County, Minnesota.
Pike Lake and Rose Lake are both in Minnesota — 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 grades are close: Pike Lake (A) and Rose Lake (B) are within one letter of each other on the LakeGrade rubric. The per-parameter sub-grades below will show where the small differences actually live.
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.
Pike Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 17.4 ft down.
Rose Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 14.6 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Pike Lake | Rose Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 17.4 ft | 14.6 ft |
| Phosphorus | 7 µg/L | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 45 ft | 130 ft |
| Surface Area | 814.43 acres | 476.95 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | No |
| Fish Species | 7 | 5 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Pike Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Rose Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 17.4 ft vs 14.6 ft. For fishing diversity, Pike Lake also leads with 7 species.