Pike Lake vs South Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Pike Lake and South Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Cook County, Minnesota.
Both Pike Lake and South 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. The grades are close: Pike Lake (A) and South Lake (A) 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.
South Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 26 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Pike Lake | South Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 17.4 ft | 26 ft |
| Phosphorus | 7 µg/L | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 45 ft | 140 ft |
| Surface Area | 814.43 acres | 1.1K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 7 | 6 |
| 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 (Pike Lake: 17.4 ft, South Lake: 26 ft) and what you want from the lake. Pike Lake supports more documented fish species.