Gun Lake vs Waukenabo Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Gun Lake and Waukenabo Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of C (Fair). Both are in Aitkin County, Minnesota.
Both Gun Lake and Waukenabo Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any grade differences here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies grading them. The grades are close: Gun Lake (C) and Waukenabo Lake (C) 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.
Gun Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7 ft.
Waukenabo Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 8 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Gun Lake | Waukenabo Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | C (Fair) | C (Fair) |
| Water Clarity | 7 ft | 8 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 44 ft | 38 ft |
| Surface Area | 711.9 acres | 667.7 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | mesotrophic |
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 (Gun Lake: 7 ft, Waukenabo Lake: 8 ft) and what you want from the lake. Gun Lake matches its peer on species count.