Bemidji Lake vs Irving Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Bemidji Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Irving Lake. Both are in Beltrami County, Minnesota.
Both Bemidji Lake and Irving 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 meaningfully apart: Bemidji Lake carries clearly lower phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings than Irving Lake. A spread that wide reflects real underlying differences, in watershed inputs, depth profiles, or monitoring rigor.
For a recreational visitor, the wider gap in the readings is decisive: Bemidji Lake has the lower nutrient and algae numbers. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?
Bemidji Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 12.5 ft.
Irving Lake
Murky, only visible to about 5.6 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Bemidji Lake | Irving Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 12.5 ft Better | 5.6 ft |
| Phosphorus | 16.5 µg/L Better | 32 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 4 µg/L Better | 10.2 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 76 ft Better | 19 ft |
| Surface Area | 6,596 acres | 662 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 16 | 20 Better |
| 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
Bemidji Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Irving Lake. Water clarity: 12.5 ft vs 5.6 ft. For more fish-species variety, Irving Lake edges ahead with 20 documented species.
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Where to stay near Bemidji Lake and Irving Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.