Koronis Lake vs Rice Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Koronis Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Rice Lake. Both are in Stearns County, Minnesota.
Koronis Lake and Rice 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. The readings are meaningfully apart: Koronis Lake carries clearly lower phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings than Rice Lake. A spread that wide reflects real underlying differences, in watershed inputs, depth profiles, or monitoring rigor.
For a recreational visitor, the wider gap in the readings is decisive: Koronis Lake has the lower nutrient and algae numbers. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?
Koronis Lake
Murky, only visible to about 6 ft.
Rice Lake
Very murky, less than 3 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Koronis Lake | Rice Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 6 ft Better | 3 ft |
| Phosphorus | 27 µg/L Better | 50 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 13.8 µg/L Better | 39.5 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 132 ft Better | 41 ft |
| Surface Area | 2,968 acres | 1,513 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 22 Better | 21 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | eutrophic |
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
Koronis Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Rice Lake. Water clarity: 6 ft vs 3 ft. For fishing diversity, Koronis Lake also leads with 22 species.
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Where to stay near Koronis Lake and Rice Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.