Bear Island Lake vs Birch Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Bear Island Lake and Birch Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of C (Fair). Both are in St. Louis County, Minnesota.
Bear Island Lake and Birch 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 grades are close: Bear Island Lake (C) and Birch Lake (C) are within one letter of each other on the LakeGrade rubric. The per-parameter sub-grades below will show where the small differences actually live.
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.
Bear Island Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7 ft.
Birch Lake
Murky, only visible to about 3.9 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Bear Island Lake | Birch Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | C (Fair) | C (Fair) |
| Water Clarity | 7 ft | 3.9 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | 21 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 62 ft | 25 ft |
| Surface Area | 2.4K acres | 7.1K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade C. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Bear Island Lake: 7 ft, Birch Lake: 3.9 ft) and what you want from the lake. Bear Island Lake matches its peer on species count.