Bad Medicine Lake vs Height of Land Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Bad Medicine Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Height of Land Lake (C, Fair). Both are in Becker County, Minnesota.
Both Bad Medicine Lake and Height of Land 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 meaningfully apart: Bad Medicine Lake grades a A while Height of Land Lake grades a C. That two-letter spread reflects real underlying differences — different watershed inputs, different depth profiles, or different monitoring rigor.
For a recreational visitor, the wider grade gap is decisive — Bad Medicine Lake is the better water-quality choice. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?
Bad Medicine Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 25 ft down.
Height of Land Lake
Murky, only visible to about 6.6 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Bad Medicine Lake | Height of Land Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | C (Fair) |
| Water Clarity | 25 ft | 6.6 ft |
| Phosphorus | 6 µg/L | 25 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 84 ft | 21 ft |
| Surface Area | 803.03 acres | 3.8K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | eutrophic |
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 Height of Land Lake's Grade C. Water clarity: 25 ft vs 6.6 ft. For fishing diversity, Bad Medicine Lake also leads with 1 species.