Lac Courte Oreilles Lake vs Round Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Round Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Lac Courte Oreilles Lake (A, Excellent). Both are in Sawyer County, Wisconsin.
Both Lac Courte Oreilles Lake and Round Lake sit in Wisconsin. 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 — Lac Courte Oreilles Lake (A) versus Round Lake (A). 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.
Lac Courte Oreilles Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 12.2 ft.
Round Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 21.1 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Lac Courte Oreilles Lake | Round Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 12.2 ft | 21.1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 16 µg/L | 14.4 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 1.4 µg/L | 1 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 90 ft | 74 ft |
| Surface Area | 5.1K acres | 3.3K 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
Round Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Lac Courte Oreilles Lake's Grade A. Water clarity: 21.1 ft vs 12.2 ft. For fishing diversity, Round Lake also leads with 0 species.