Clear Lake vs Loon Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Clear Lake and Loon Lake read the same on nutrients and algae. Both are in Jackson County, Minnesota.
Both Clear Lake and Loon Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any differences in the readings here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies sampling them. These two sit close on the readings, Clear Lake versus Loon Lake. The deciding factors for a recreational visitor are likely physical (depth, access, fish species) rather than water-quality differences.
With readings 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
Very murky, less than 1.5 ft of visibility.
Loon Lake
Very murky, less than 0.9 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Clear Lake | Loon Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 1.5 ft Better | 0.9 ft |
| Phosphorus | 90.5 µg/L Better | 274 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 44 µg/L Better | 110 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 9 ft Better | 8 ft |
| Surface Area | 434 acres | 708 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 15 | 18 Better |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | 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 Clear Lake or Loon Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade F. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Clear Lake: 1.5 ft, Loon Lake: 0.9 ft) and what you want from the lake. Clear Lake has fewer fish species than Loon Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.