Big Sand Lake vs Sand Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Big Sand Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Sand Lake. Both are in Burnett County, Wisconsin.
Both Big Sand Lake and Sand 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: Big Sand Lake and Sand 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.
Big Sand Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11 ft.
Sand Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 18 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Big Sand Lake | Sand Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 11 ft | 18 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 19.5 µg/L | 10.4 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 2.3 µg/L | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 55 ft | 73 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 1,434 acres | 900 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 5 Better | 4 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | 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.
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Verdict
Big Sand Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Sand Lake. Water clarity: 11 ft vs 18 ft. For fishing diversity, Big Sand Lake also leads with 5 species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.