Johnson Lake vs Trout Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Trout Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Johnson Lake. Both are in Itasca County, Minnesota.
Both Johnson Lake and Trout Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any differences in the readings here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies sampling them. The readings are close: Johnson Lake and Trout Lake sit within a narrow band of each other on phosphorus, chlorophyll-a and clarity. The per-parameter table below shows where the small differences actually live.
With readings 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.
Johnson Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 15.7 ft down.
Trout Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 18 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Johnson Lake | Trout Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 15.7 ft | 18 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 9.5 µg/L | 3.5 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 2.7 µg/L | 1.1 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 88 ft | 157 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 434 acres | 1,743 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | No |
| Fish Species | 11 Better | 9 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | oligotrophic |
A green ✓ marks the better value for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better). Surface area and trophic state carry no tick — a bigger lake is not a better lake.
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Verdict
Johnson Lake and Trout Lake read the same on nutrients and algae overall. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Johnson Lake: 15.7 ft, Trout Lake: 18 ft) and what you want from the lake. Johnson Lake supports more documented fish species.
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Where to stay near Johnson Lake and Trout Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.