Pike Lake vs Round Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Pike Lake and Round Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of C (Fair). Both are in Price County, Wisconsin.
Both Pike Lake and Round Lake sit in Wisconsin. 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 — Pike Lake (C) versus Round Lake (C). 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.
Pike Lake
Very murky, less than 3 ft of visibility.
Round Lake
Murky, only visible to about 4 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Pike Lake | Round Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | C (Fair) | C (Fair) |
| Water Clarity | 3 ft | 4 ft |
| Phosphorus | 34.9 µg/L | 28 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 17 ft | 24 ft |
| Surface Area | 741 acres | 748 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 5 | 6 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade C. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Pike Lake: 3 ft, Round Lake: 4 ft) and what you want from the lake. Pike Lake has fewer fish species than Round Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.