Big Trout Lake vs Clearwater Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Big Trout Lake and Clearwater Lake read the same on nutrients and algae. Both are in Crow Wing County, Minnesota.
Both Big Trout Lake and Clearwater 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 close: Big Trout Lake and Clearwater 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 Trout Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16.9 ft down.
Clearwater Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Big Trout Lake | Clearwater Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 16.9 ft Better | 13 ft |
| Phosphorus | 10 µg/L Better | 12 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 2.1 µg/L Better | 3.7 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 128 ft Better | 54 ft |
| Surface Area | 1,366 acres | 905 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 20 Better | 16 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | mesotrophic |
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.
Swap a lake
Compare Big Trout Lake or Clearwater Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Big Trout Lake: 16.9 ft, Clearwater Lake: 13 ft) and what you want from the lake. Big Trout Lake supports more documented fish species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.