Alpine Lake vs Clearwater Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Clearwater Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Alpine Lake (B, Good). Both are in Cook County, Minnesota.
Alpine Lake and Clearwater 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: Alpine Lake (B) and Clearwater Lake (A) 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.
Alpine Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 12 ft.
Clearwater Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 30 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Alpine Lake | Clearwater Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B (Good) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 12 ft | 30 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | 4 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 65 ft | 65 ft |
| Surface Area | 908.63 acres | 461.73 acres |
| Public Access | No | No |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Clearwater Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Alpine Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 30 ft vs 12 ft. For fishing diversity, Clearwater Lake also leads with 0 species.