Bearskin Lake vs Clearwater Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Bearskin Lake and Clearwater Lake read the same on nutrients and algae. Both are in Cook County, Minnesota.
Both Bearskin Lake and Clearwater 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: Bearskin 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.
Bearskin Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 21 ft down.
Clearwater Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 29 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Bearskin Lake | Clearwater Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 21 ft | 29 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 6 µg/L | 4 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 1.3 µg/L | 1.3 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 78 ft Better | 65 ft |
| Surface Area | 509 acres | 462 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | No |
| Fish Species | 9 Better | 0 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | oligotrophic |
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 Bearskin Lake or Clearwater Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Bearskin Lake: 21 ft, Clearwater Lake: 29 ft) and what you want from the lake. Bearskin Lake supports more documented fish species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.