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Six Mile Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Ball Club Lake. Both are in Minnesota.

Reviewed by LakeQuality Editorial Team · Updated

Both Ball Club Lake and Six Mile Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any differences in the readings here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies sampling them. These two sit close on the readings, Ball Club Lake versus Six Mile 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.

Ball Club Lake

Itasca County, Minnesota

Crystal clear, you can see 16 ft down.

Six Mile Lake

Cass County, Minnesota

Good clarity, visible to about 11.5 ft.

Side-by-Side Metrics

MetricBall Club LakeSix Mile Lake
Water Clarity16 ft Better11.5 ft
Phosphorus16.5 µg/L14.5 µg/L Better
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No data6.7 µg/L
Maximum Depth85 ft Better68 ft
Surface Area4,335 acres1,323 acres
Public AccessYesYes
Fish Species1116 Better
Trophic Statemesotrophicmesotrophic

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.

Verdict

Six Mile Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Ball Club Lake. Water clarity: 11.5 ft vs 16 ft. For fishing diversity, Six Mile Lake also leads with 16 species.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.