Bear Lake vs Beaver Dam Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Beaver Dam Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Bear Lake (B, Good). Both are in Barron County, Wisconsin.
Both Bear Lake and Beaver Dam 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 — Bear Lake (B) versus Beaver Dam 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.
Bear Lake
Murky, only visible to about 6.2 ft.
Beaver Dam Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Bear Lake | Beaver Dam Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B (Good) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 6.2 ft | 11 ft |
| Phosphorus | 17.5 µg/L | 13 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 1.4K acres | 1.2K 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
Beaver Dam Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Bear Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 11 ft vs 6.2 ft. For fishing diversity, Beaver Dam Lake also leads with 0 species.