Bad Medicine Lake vs Elbow Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Bad Medicine Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Elbow Lake (A, Excellent). Both are in Becker County, Minnesota.
Both Bad Medicine Lake and Elbow Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any grade differences here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies grading them. The grades are close: Bad Medicine Lake (A) and Elbow 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.
Bad Medicine Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 25 ft down.
Elbow Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 12.1 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Bad Medicine Lake | Elbow Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 25 ft | 12.1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 6 µg/L | 14 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 84 ft | 76 ft |
| Surface Area | 803.03 acres | 994.71 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Bad Medicine Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Elbow Lake's Grade A. Water clarity: 25 ft vs 12.1 ft. For fishing diversity, Bad Medicine Lake also leads with 1 species.