Clearwater Lake vs Loon Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Clearwater Lake and Loon Lake read the same on nutrients and algae. Both are in Cook County, Minnesota.
Both Clearwater 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, Clearwater 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.
Clearwater Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 29 ft down.
Loon Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 17.4 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Clearwater Lake | Loon Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 29 ft Better | 17.4 ft |
| Phosphorus | 4 µg/L Better | 5 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 1.3 µg/L Better | 1.6 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 65 ft | 202 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 462 acres | 1,095 acres |
| Public Access | No | Yes |
| Fish Species | 0 | 10 Better |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | oligotrophic |
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 Clearwater Lake or Loon Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Clearwater Lake: 29 ft, Loon Lake: 17.4 ft) and what you want from the lake. Clearwater Lake has fewer fish species than Loon Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.