Crane Lake vs Sand Point Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Crane Lake and Sand Point Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of D (Poor). Both are in St. Louis County, Minnesota.
Crane Lake and Sand Point 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 — Crane Lake (D) versus Sand Point Lake (D). 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.
Crane Lake
Murky, only visible to about 6 ft.
Sand Point Lake
Murky, only visible to about 6.6 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Crane Lake | Sand Point Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | D (Poor) | D (Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 6 ft | 6.6 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 80 ft | 184 ft |
| Surface Area | 2.9K acres | 8.5K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | No |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade D. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Crane Lake: 6 ft, Sand Point Lake: 6.6 ft) and what you want from the lake. Crane Lake matches its peer on species count.