Bay Lake vs Clearwater Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Bay Lake and Clearwater Lake read the same on nutrients and algae. Both are in Crow Wing County, Minnesota.
Bay Lake and Clearwater 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. The readings are close: Bay Lake and Clearwater 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.
Bay Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 18.5 ft down.
Clearwater Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Bay Lake | Clearwater Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 18.5 ft Better | 13 ft |
| Phosphorus | 11 µg/L Better | 12 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 1.6 µg/L Better | 3.7 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 74 ft Better | 54 ft |
| Surface Area | 2,330 acres | 905 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 Bay Lake or Clearwater Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Bay Lake: 18.5 ft, Clearwater Lake: 13 ft) and what you want from the lake. Bay Lake has fewer fish species than Clearwater Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.