Bright Lake vs Fox Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Bright Lake and Fox Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of F (Algae-prone). Both are in Martin County, Minnesota.
Both Bright Lake and Fox Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any grade differences here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies grading them. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Bright Lake (F) versus Fox Lake (F). 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.
Bright Lake
Very murky, less than 1 ft of visibility.
Fox Lake
Very murky, less than 1 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Bright Lake | Fox Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | F (Algae-prone) | F (Algae-prone) |
| Water Clarity | 1 ft | 1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 110.5 µg/L Better | 197 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 54.1 µg/L Better | 65.8 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 7 ft | 20 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 639 acres | 951 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 20 Better | 17 |
| Trophic State | hypereutrophic | hypereutrophic |
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 Bright Lake or Fox Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade F. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Bright Lake: 1 ft, Fox Lake: 1 ft) and what you want from the lake. Bright Lake supports more documented fish species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.