Forest Lake vs White Bear Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
White Bear Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Forest Lake. Both are in Washington County, Minnesota.
Both Forest Lake and White Bear Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any differences in the readings here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies sampling them. White Bear Lake reads materially cleaner than Forest Lake on nutrients and algae. 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 gap in the readings is decisive: White Bear Lake has the lower nutrient and algae numbers. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?
Forest Lake
Murky, only visible to about 5.1 ft.
White Bear Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 14.4 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Forest Lake | White Bear Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 5.1 ft | 14.4 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 28 µg/L | 15 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 16.5 µg/L | 2.7 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 37 ft | 83 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 2,271 acres | 2,428 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 18 | 18 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | mesotrophic |
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.
Swap a lake
Compare Forest Lake or White Bear Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
White Bear Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Forest Lake. Water clarity: 14.4 ft vs 5.1 ft. For fishing diversity, White Bear Lake also leads with 18 species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.