Balsam Lake vs Deer Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Deer Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Balsam Lake (B, Good). Both are in Polk County, Wisconsin.
Both Balsam Lake and Deer Lake sit in Wisconsin. 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Balsam Lake (B) versus Deer Lake (A). The deciding factors for a recreational visitor are likely physical (depth, access, fish species) rather than water-quality differences.
With grades 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.
Balsam Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13 ft.
Deer Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Balsam Lake | Deer Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B (Good) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 13 ft | 16 ft |
| Phosphorus | 23.4 µg/L | 16.9 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 37 ft | 46 ft |
| Surface Area | 1.9K acres | 786 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Deer Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Balsam Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 16 ft vs 13 ft. For fishing diversity, Deer Lake also leads with 0 species.