Clearwater Lake vs Loon Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Clearwater Lake and Loon Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). 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 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 — Clearwater Lake (A) versus Loon Lake (A). 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 29 ft | 17.4 ft |
| Phosphorus | 4 µg/L | 5 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 1.3 µg/L | 1.6 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 65 ft | 202 ft |
| Surface Area | 462 acres | 1,095 acres |
| Public Access | No | Yes |
| Fish Species | 0 | 10 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
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.