Clear Lake vs Ml-Ce Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Clear Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Ml-Ce Lake (B, Good). Both are in Aitkin County, Minnesota.
Clear Lake and Ml-Ce 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 — Clear Lake (A) versus Ml-Ce Lake (B). 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.
Clear Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 15 ft down.
Ml-Ce Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 9 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Clear Lake | Ml-Ce Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 15 ft | 9 ft |
| Phosphorus | 15 µg/L | 25 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | 5.2 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 24 ft | 42 ft |
| Surface Area | 573.5 acres | 128.3K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 14 | 21 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Clear Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Ml-Ce Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 15 ft vs 9 ft. For more fish-species variety, Ml-Ce Lake edges ahead with 21 documented species.