Devil Track Lake vs Elbow Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Devil Track Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Elbow Lake. Both are in Cook County, Minnesota.
Devil Track Lake and Elbow 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. The readings are close: Devil Track Lake and Elbow Lake sit within a narrow band of each other on phosphorus, chlorophyll-a and clarity. The per-parameter table below shows where the small differences actually live.
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.
Devil Track Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7 ft.
Elbow Lake
Murky, only visible to about 3.7 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Devil Track Lake | Elbow Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 7 ft Better | 3.7 ft |
| Phosphorus | 12 µg/L Better | 18.5 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 5.3 µg/L | 4.8 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 50 ft Better | 9 ft |
| Surface Area | 1,876 acres | 408 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 9 Better | 7 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | eutrophic |
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.
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Verdict
Devil Track Lake and Elbow Lake read the same on nutrients and algae overall. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Devil Track Lake: 7 ft, Elbow Lake: 3.7 ft) and what you want from the lake. Devil Track Lake supports more documented fish species.
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Where to stay near Devil Track Lake and Elbow Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.