Darling Lake vs Le Homme Dieu Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Darling Lake and Le Homme Dieu Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Douglas County, Minnesota.
Both Darling Lake and Le Homme Dieu 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. The grades are close: Darling Lake (A) and Le Homme Dieu Lake (A) are within one letter of each other on the LakeGrade rubric. The per-parameter sub-grades below will show where the small differences actually live.
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.
Darling Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 14 ft.
Le Homme Dieu Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13.1 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Darling Lake | Le Homme Dieu Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 14 ft | 13.1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 19 µg/L | 21 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 3.7 µg/L | 3.7 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 62 ft | 85 ft |
| Surface Area | 1,050 acres | 1,801 acres |
| Public Access | No | Yes |
| Fish Species | 19 | 20 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | mesotrophic |
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 (Darling Lake: 14 ft, Le Homme Dieu Lake: 13.1 ft) and what you want from the lake. Darling Lake has fewer fish species than Le Homme Dieu Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.