Bear Head Lake vs Bear Island Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Bear Island Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Bear Head Lake. Both are in St. Louis County, Minnesota.
Both Bear Head Lake and Bear Island 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: Bear Head Lake and Bear Island 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.
Bear Head Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11 ft.
Bear Island Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Bear Head Lake | Bear Island Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 11 ft Better | 7 ft |
| Phosphorus | 19.5 µg/L | 15 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 3.6 µg/L Better | 6.4 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 46 ft | 62 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 662 acres | 2,362 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 9 | 13 Better |
| 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.
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Verdict
Bear Head Lake and Bear Island Lake read the same on nutrients and algae overall. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Bear Head Lake: 11 ft, Bear Island Lake: 7 ft) and what you want from the lake. Bear Head Lake has fewer fish species than Bear Island Lake.
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Where to stay near Bear Head Lake and Bear Island Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.