Beaver Dam Lake vs Rice Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Beaver Dam Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Rice Lake. Both are in Barron County, Wisconsin.
Both Beaver Dam Lake and Rice Lake sit in Wisconsin. 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: Beaver Dam Lake and Rice 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.
Beaver Dam Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11 ft.
Rice Lake
Murky, only visible to about 4.1 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Beaver Dam Lake | Rice Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 11 ft Better | 4.1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 12.9 µg/L Better | 31.5 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 106 ft Better | 19 ft |
| Surface Area | 1,163 acres | 859 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 6 Better | 5 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | eutrophic |
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
Beaver Dam Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Rice Lake. Water clarity: 11 ft vs 4.1 ft. For fishing diversity, Beaver Dam Lake also leads with 6 species.
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Where to stay near Beaver Dam Lake and Rice Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.