Chippewa Lake vs Ida Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Ida Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Chippewa Lake (A, Excellent). Both are in Douglas County, Minnesota.
Chippewa Lake and Ida 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: Chippewa Lake (A) and Ida Lake (A) 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.
Chippewa Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 14.8 ft.
Ida Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16.4 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Chippewa Lake | Ida Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 14.8 ft | 16.4 ft |
| Phosphorus | 14 µg/L | 14 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 95 ft | 106 ft |
| Surface Area | 1.2K acres | 4.4K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 19 | 19 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Ida Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Chippewa Lake's Grade A. Water clarity: 16.4 ft vs 14.8 ft. For fishing diversity, Ida Lake also leads with 19 species.