Grindstone Lake vs Lac Courte Oreilles Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Grindstone Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Lac Courte Oreilles Lake (A, Excellent). Both are in Sawyer County, Wisconsin.
Grindstone Lake and Lac Courte Oreilles Lake are both in Wisconsin — 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. The grades are close: Grindstone Lake (A) and Lac Courte Oreilles Lake (A) are within one letter of each other on the LakeGrade rubric. The per-parameter sub-grades below will show where the small differences actually live.
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.
Grindstone Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 17.4 ft down.
Lac Courte Oreilles Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 12.2 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Grindstone Lake | Lac Courte Oreilles Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 17.4 ft | 12.2 ft |
| Phosphorus | 14.4 µg/L | 16 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 1.7 µg/L | 1.4 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 60 ft | 90 ft |
| Surface Area | 3.2K acres | 5.1K acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Grindstone Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Lac Courte Oreilles Lake's Grade A. Water clarity: 17.4 ft vs 12.2 ft. For fishing diversity, Grindstone Lake also leads with 0 species.