Bad Medicine Lake vs Melissa Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Bad Medicine Lake and Melissa Lake read the same on nutrients and algae. Both are in Becker County, Minnesota.
Bad Medicine Lake and Melissa 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 readings are close: Bad Medicine Lake and Melissa Lake sit within a narrow band of each other on phosphorus, chlorophyll-a and clarity. The per-parameter table below shows where the small differences actually live.
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.
Melissa Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13.1 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Bad Medicine Lake | Melissa Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 25 ft Better | 13.1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 6 µg/L Better | 18 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 1.6 µg/L Better | 4.5 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 84 ft Better | 37 ft |
| Surface Area | 803 acres | 1,850 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 13 | 16 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 Melissa Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Bad Medicine Lake: 25 ft, Melissa Lake: 13.1 ft) and what you want from the lake. Bad Medicine Lake has fewer fish species than Melissa Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.