Bad Medicine Lake vs Stakke Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Bad Medicine Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Stakke Lake (C, Fair). Both are in Becker County, Minnesota.
Both Bad Medicine Lake and Stakke 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 Stakke 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.
Stakke Lake
Murky, only visible to about 3.6 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Bad Medicine Lake | Stakke Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | C (Fair) |
| Water Clarity | 25 ft | 3.6 ft |
| Phosphorus | 6 µg/L | 53 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 84 ft | 15 ft |
| Surface Area | 803.03 acres | 497 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | No |
| Fish Species | 1 | 0 |
| 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 Stakke Lake's Grade C. Water clarity: 25 ft vs 3.6 ft. For fishing diversity, Bad Medicine Lake also leads with 1 species.