Eagle Lake vs Spitzer Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Eagle Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Spitzer Lake (B, Good). Both are in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.
Both Eagle Lake and Spitzer 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: Eagle Lake (A) and Spitzer Lake (B) 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.
Eagle Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 22.6 ft down.
Spitzer Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Eagle Lake | Spitzer Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 22.6 ft | 7 ft |
| Phosphorus | 5 µg/L | 24 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 1.8 µg/L | 7.1 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 46 ft | 33 ft |
| Surface Area | 907 acres | 731 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 10 | 13 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Eagle Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Spitzer Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 22.6 ft vs 7 ft. For more fish-species variety, Spitzer Lake edges ahead with 13 documented species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.