Pike Lake vs Whiteface Reservoir
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Pike Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Whiteface Reservoir (F, Very Poor). Both are in St. Louis County, Minnesota.
Pike Lake and Whiteface Reservoir 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. Pike Lake (A) is materially cleaner than Whiteface Reservoir (F). A gap that wide is unlikely to close in a single year of remediation work; it reflects multi-decade differences in the lakes themselves.
For a recreational visitor, the wider grade gap is decisive — Pike Lake is the better water-quality choice. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?
Pike Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 18 ft down.
Whiteface Reservoir
Very murky, less than 3 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Pike Lake | Whiteface Reservoir |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | F (Very Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 18 ft | 3 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 60 ft | 35 ft |
| Surface Area | 488.26 acres | 4.6K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | eutrophic |
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 Whiteface Reservoir's Grade F. Water clarity: 18 ft vs 3 ft. For fishing diversity, Pike Lake also leads with 1 species.