Geneva Lake vs Ida Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Ida Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Geneva Lake (B, Good). Both are in Douglas County, Minnesota.
Geneva Lake and Ida 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 — Geneva Lake (B) versus Ida Lake (A). 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.
Geneva Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 14.1 ft.
Ida Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16.5 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Geneva Lake | Ida Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B (Good) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 14.1 ft | 16.5 ft |
| Phosphorus | 22 µg/L | 14 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 635 acres | 4.4K acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Ida Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Geneva Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 16.5 ft vs 14.1 ft. For fishing diversity, Ida Lake also leads with 1 species.