Alder Lake vs East Bearskin Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Alder Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than East Bearskin Lake (B, Good). Both are in Cook County, Minnesota.
Alder Lake and East Bearskin Lake 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. The grades are close: Alder Lake (A) and East Bearskin Lake (B) 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.
Alder Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13.8 ft.
East Bearskin Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 14 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Alder Lake | East Bearskin Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 13.8 ft | 14 ft |
| Phosphorus | 8 µg/L | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 72 ft | 66 ft |
| Surface Area | 528.93 acres | 593.29 acres |
| Public Access | No | Yes |
| Fish Species | 0 | 1 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Alder Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus East Bearskin Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 13.8 ft vs 14 ft. For more fish-species variety, East Bearskin Lake edges ahead with 1 documented species.