Ida Lake vs Le Homme Dieu Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Ida Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Le Homme Dieu Lake (B, Good). Both are in Douglas County, Minnesota.
Both Ida Lake and Le Homme Dieu 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Ida Lake (A) versus Le Homme Dieu Lake (B). 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.
Ida Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16.4 ft down.
Le Homme Dieu Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13.1 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Ida Lake | Le Homme Dieu Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 16.4 ft | 13.1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 14 µg/L | 21 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 106 ft | 85 ft |
| Surface Area | 4.4K acres | 1.8K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 19 | 20 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | mesotrophic |
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 Le Homme Dieu Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 16.4 ft vs 13.1 ft. For more fish-species variety, Le Homme Dieu Lake edges ahead with 20 documented species.