Bad Medicine Lake vs Round Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Bad Medicine Lake and Round Lake read the same on nutrients and algae. Both are in Becker County, Minnesota.
Bad Medicine Lake and Round 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. These two sit close on the readings, Bad Medicine Lake versus Round 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.
Round Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 10 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Bad Medicine Lake | Round Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 25 ft Better | 10 ft |
| Phosphorus | 6 µg/L Better | 16 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 1.6 µg/L Better | 4.3 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 84 ft Better | 69 ft |
| Surface Area | 803 acres | 1,094 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 13 | 18 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 Round Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Bad Medicine Lake: 25 ft, Round Lake: 10 ft) and what you want from the lake. Bad Medicine Lake has fewer fish species than Round Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.