Borden Lake vs Smith Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Borden Lake and Smith Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of B (Good). Both are in Crow Wing County, Minnesota.
Borden Lake and Smith 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: Borden Lake (B) and Smith Lake (B) 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.
Borden Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 10.5 ft.
Smith Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 12.1 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Borden Lake | Smith Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B (Good) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 10.5 ft | 12.1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 22.5 µg/L | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 84 ft | 54 ft |
| Surface Area | 1.0K acres | 490.77 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | No |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade B. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Borden Lake: 10.5 ft, Smith Lake: 12.1 ft) and what you want from the lake. Borden Lake matches its peer on species count.