Pike Lake
Kosciusko County, IndianaView mapDirections
IDEM publishes the water-quality measurements for Pike Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 45 ft max depth
Pike Lake in Kosciusko County, Indiana has water-quality measurements published by IDEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 60.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2 µg/L.
Pike Lake is a cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Kosciusko County, Indiana with an estimated average depth of about 45 feet. Water clarity is improving over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, IDEM, last sampled 2026-09-07. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Pike Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyRecreation use not supported
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Based on E. coli testing, Pike Lake frequently exceeded the EPA safe-swimming threshold (235 MPN/100mL) — on 20% of 25 samples across 3 seasons.
This is a historical summary of past testing, not a current condition — bacteria levels change quickly, especially after rain. Always check Indiana’s current beach and health-department advisories before swimming.
Whether Pike Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Pike Lake
These are the measurements IDEM publishes for Pike Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 1.9 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 60.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 2 µg/L. TSI 68.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 60.5µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 2µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 68 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Pike Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Current Conditions
USGS snapshot Jul 6, 2026, 4:00 AM from gauge 03331040 (Pike Lake at Warsaw, IN). Station page ↗ — a live reading replaces this snapshot when the gauge responds. Missing live data is not an all-clear.
→ Pike Lake water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Water Temperature
Pike Lake typically sits around 61°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 79°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 81°F) and coldest in Apr (about 52°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (52°F) to its warmest (81°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 32 field readings (2013–2022) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Pike Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~45 ft est.
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Indiana has not published bathymetry for Pike Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
46 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
217 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
797 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Pike Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Pike Lake in Kosciusko County, Indiana — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water.
Top-rated places to stay near Pike Lake
Prices for Oct 23–25, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
Planning a whole trip? See where to stay at Indiana’s top lakes →
Follow Pike Lake’s readings
Email me when new measurements post for this lake. Updates stay free.
Or email
Fishing Pike Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Improving5 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+6.27 µg/L/yr5 years
Chlorophyll-a
Stable-0.05 µg/L/yr5 years
EPA Impairment Status
Pike Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption, Recreation.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit INB06P1005_00 · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
52 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Pike Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 1 facility has a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Milestone Technologies Inc. Dba Da-Lite Screen CompanyWarsaw · 2 mi away · NPDES INRM00651Recent violation
- Sun Metal Products, Inc.Warsaw · 0.7 mi away · NPDES IN0054640
- Meijer Lots B & CWarsaw · 0.7 mi away · NPDES INR10P184
- Belle Tire WarsawWarsaw · 0.7 mi away · NPDES INRA00940
- Growing Kids Learning CenterWarsaw · 0.7 mi away · NPDES INRA01608
- Kosciusko Community YmcaWarsaw · 0.8 mi away · NPDES INR10H262
Facilities permitted to discharge under the Clean Water Act within ~5 miles; proximity does not by itself mean a facility affects this lake. Source: EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES), as of 2026-07.
Nearby Lakes in Kosciusko County
Frequently asked questions about Pike Lake
Where is Pike Lake?
- Pike Lake is a lake in Kosciusko County, Indiana. Its water-quality measurements are published by IDEM and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Pike Lake?
- Pike Lake in Kosciusko County, Indiana has water-quality measurements published by IDEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 60.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2 µg/L.
Is Pike Lake safe to swim in?
- Based on E. coli testing, Pike Lake frequently exceeded the EPA safe-swimming threshold (235 MPN/100mL) — on 20% of 25 samples across 3 seasons. That is a historical summary of past bacteria testing, not a current reading and not a swimming clearance. Bacteria levels can spike quickly after heavy rain, so whether Pike Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for Indiana's water agency and the county health department; check their current beach advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Pike Lake?
- Pike Lake typically sits around 61°F at the surface in October, from 32 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2013–2022). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Pike Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Pike Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 45 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
What is the water level at Pike Lake?
- The USGS snapshot on this page for Pike Lake is 5.91 ft of gage height, recorded Jul 6, 2026, 4:00 AM at gauge 03331040. Current Conditions hydrates a live NWIS reading from that same station when the gauge responds. A missed live fetch is not an all-clear.
Explore Pike Lake across LakeQuality
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
Top lakes and where to stay in the Northern Indiana Lake Country area
Where to stay at Indiana's top lakes, each with its readings
Indiana's cleanest lakes, ranked on agency measurements
More lakes in Indiana
Other Lakes in Indiana
Oligotrophic Lakes in Indiana
Where this data comes from
11 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS11 samples · 2021
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)