Big Trout Lake vs North Long Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Big Trout Lake and North Long Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Crow Wing County, Minnesota.
Big Trout Lake and North Long 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Big Trout Lake (A) versus North Long Lake (A). The deciding factors for a recreational visitor are likely physical (depth, access, fish species) rather than water-quality differences.
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 Trout Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16.9 ft down.
North Long Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 15.1 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Big Trout Lake | North Long Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 16.9 ft | 15.1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 10 µg/L | 14 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 128 ft | 97 ft |
| Surface Area | 1.4K acres | 6.2K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 20 | 18 |
| 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 Trout Lake: 16.9 ft, North Long Lake: 15.1 ft) and what you want from the lake. Big Trout Lake supports more documented fish species.