Big Rice Lake vs Kitchi Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Big Rice Lake and Kitchi Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of C (Fair). Both are in Beltrami County, Minnesota.
Big Rice Lake and Kitchi Lake are both in Minnesota — a same-state head-to-head where the comparison comes down to lake-specific differences in depth, watershed, and monitoring history rather than the broader state-level water-quality regime. The grades are close: Big Rice Lake (C) and Kitchi Lake (C) 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 Rice Lake
Murky, only visible to about 5.7 ft.
Kitchi Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 8.2 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Big Rice Lake | Kitchi Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | C (Fair) | C (Fair) |
| Water Clarity | 5.7 ft | 8.2 ft |
| Phosphorus | 26 µg/L | 23 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 11.4 µg/L | 7.5 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 13 ft | 50 ft |
| Surface Area | 642 acres | 1,865 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | No |
| Fish Species | 14 | 16 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade C. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Big Rice Lake: 5.7 ft, Kitchi Lake: 8.2 ft) and what you want from the lake. Big Rice Lake has fewer fish species than Kitchi Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.