Skip to main content
LakeQuality

Farm Lake vs Greenwood Lake

Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.

Farm Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Greenwood Lake (C, Fair). Both are in Lake County, Minnesota.

Reviewed by LakeQuality Editorial Team · Updated

Farm Lake and Greenwood 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. Farm Lake (A) is materially cleaner than Greenwood Lake (C). A gap that wide is unlikely to close in a single year of remediation work; it reflects multi-decade differences in the lakes themselves.

For a recreational visitor, the wider grade gap is decisive — Farm Lake is the better water-quality choice. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?

A

Farm Lake

Lake County, Minnesota

Murky, only visible to about 5.5 ft.

C

Greenwood Lake

Lake County, Minnesota

Very murky, less than 2.1 ft of visibility.

Side-by-Side Metrics

MetricFarm LakeGreenwood Lake
Overall GradeA (Excellent)C (Fair)
Water Clarity5.5 ft2.1 ft
Phosphorus15 µg/L27.5 µg/L
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)4.7 µg/L5.9 µg/L
Maximum Depth56 ft7 ft
Surface Area1,292 acres1,329 acres
Public AccessYesYes
Fish Species127
Trophic Statemesotrophiceutrophic

Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).

Verdict

Farm Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Greenwood Lake's Grade C. Water clarity: 5.5 ft vs 2.1 ft. For fishing diversity, Farm Lake also leads with 12 species.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.