Bass Lake vs Upper Mission Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Bass Lake and Upper Mission Lake read the same on nutrients and algae. Both are in Crow Wing County, Minnesota.
Both Bass Lake and Upper Mission 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. The readings are close: Bass Lake and Upper Mission Lake sit within a narrow band of each other on phosphorus, chlorophyll-a and clarity. The per-parameter table below shows where the small differences actually live.
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.
Bass Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13 ft.
Upper Mission Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Bass Lake | Upper Mission Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 13 ft Better | 11 ft |
| Phosphorus | 19 µg/L | 15.5 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 5.9 µg/L | 5.1 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 27 ft | 36 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 732 acres | 882 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 14 Better | 13 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | 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 Bass Lake or Upper Mission Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Bass Lake: 13 ft, Upper Mission Lake: 11 ft) and what you want from the lake. Bass Lake supports more documented fish species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.