Foot Lake vs Long Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Foot Lake and Long Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of D (Poor). Both are in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota.
Foot Lake and Long 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 — Foot Lake (D) versus Long 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.
Foot Lake
Very murky, less than 2.3 ft of visibility.
Long Lake
Very murky, less than 3 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Foot Lake | Long Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | D (Poor) | D (Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 2.3 ft | 3 ft |
| Phosphorus | 60 µg/L | 88 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 24 ft | 16 ft |
| Surface Area | 502.99 acres | 1.6K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| 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 (Foot Lake: 2.3 ft, Long Lake: 3 ft) and what you want from the lake. Foot Lake matches its peer on species count.