Bad Medicine Lake vs Sallie Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Bad Medicine Lake and Sallie Lake read the same on nutrients and algae. Both are in Becker County, Minnesota.
Bad Medicine Lake and Sallie 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 Sallie 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.
Sallie Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Bad Medicine Lake | Sallie Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 25 ft Better | 13 ft |
| Phosphorus | 6 µg/L Better | 21 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 1.6 µg/L Better | 4.9 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 84 ft Better | 50 ft |
| Surface Area | 803 acres | 1,280 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 Sallie Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Bad Medicine Lake: 25 ft, Sallie Lake: 13 ft) and what you want from the lake. Bad Medicine Lake has fewer fish species than Sallie Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.