Pike Lake

Pike Lake grades an F: water clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate poorly, placing it among the most stressed lakes monitored in Minnesota. Sub-grades cluster within a single letter of each other, which usually means the lake is in stable trophic balance rather than fighting one specific stressor.

Hypereutrophic conditions mean the lake is operating at the upper end of the productivity scale, with all the bloom risk that implies. Pike Lake is a shallow lake at 9 ft maximum depth, which means it warms quickly, mixes constantly, and amplifies nutrient inputs. At 49 acres, Pike Lake sits below the Minnesota median: a small water where shoreline activity has an outsized effect on water quality. Within Scott County's 17 graded lakes, Pike Lake ranks 12 — below the local median, though not at the bottom.

Pike Lake is on the Minnesota infested-waters list for zebra mussels — boaters should follow clean-drain-dry protocols when moving gear to or from the lake. The state fisheries records do not list documented species for Pike Lake, which usually reflects a lack of formal fisheries survey work rather than an empty lake. The lake lacks a documented public access point, so visitor use is limited. Monitoring depth is thin here: the LakeGrade rubric is applied to a small number of sample years, and the grade will be revised as more data accumulates.