Bad Medicine Lake vs Detroit Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Bad Medicine Lake and Detroit Lake read the same on nutrients and algae. Both are in Becker County, Minnesota.
Both Bad Medicine Lake and Detroit Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any differences in the readings here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies sampling them. These two sit close on the readings, Bad Medicine Lake versus Detroit Lake. The deciding factors for a recreational visitor are likely physical (depth, access, fish species) rather than water-quality differences.
With readings 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.
Bad Medicine Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 25 ft down.
Detroit Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 14 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Bad Medicine Lake | Detroit Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 25 ft Better | 14 ft |
| Phosphorus | 6 µg/L Better | 17 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 1.6 µg/L Better | 3.3 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 84 ft | 89 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 803 acres | 3,067 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 13 | 19 Better |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | mesotrophic |
A green ✓ marks the better value for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better). Surface area and trophic state carry no tick — a bigger lake is not a better lake.
Swap a lake
Compare Bad Medicine Lake or Detroit Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Bad Medicine Lake: 25 ft, Detroit Lake: 14 ft) and what you want from the lake. Bad Medicine Lake has fewer fish species than Detroit Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.