Grand Lake vs Pearl Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Grand Lake and Pearl Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of C (Fair). Both are in Stearns County, Minnesota.
Grand Lake and Pearl 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 — Grand Lake (C) versus Pearl Lake (C). 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.
Grand Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 8 ft.
Pearl Lake
Murky, only visible to about 3.9 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Grand Lake | Pearl Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | C (Fair) | C (Fair) |
| Water Clarity | 8 ft | 3.9 ft |
| Phosphorus | 27 µg/L | 20.5 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 8.5 µg/L | 13 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 34 ft | 17 ft |
| Surface Area | 651 acres | 753 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 14 | 14 |
| 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 C. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Grand Lake: 8 ft, Pearl Lake: 3.9 ft) and what you want from the lake. Grand Lake matches its peer on species count.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.