Big Carnelian Lake vs White Bear Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Big Carnelian Lake and White Bear Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Washington County, Minnesota.
Both Big Carnelian Lake and White Bear Lake sit in Minnesota. 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. The grades are close: Big Carnelian Lake (A) and White Bear Lake (A) 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.
Big Carnelian Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 15 ft down.
White Bear Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 15 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Big Carnelian Lake | White Bear Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 15 ft | 15 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | 15 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 66 ft | 83 ft |
| Surface Area | 457.03 acres | 2.4K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Big Carnelian Lake: 15 ft, White Bear Lake: 15 ft) and what you want from the lake. Big Carnelian Lake matches its peer on species count.