Lac Courte Oreilles Lake vs Round Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Lac Courte Oreilles Lake and Round Lake read the same on nutrients and algae. 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 differences in the readings here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies sampling them. These two sit close on the readings, Lac Courte Oreilles Lake versus Round Lake. The deciding factors for a recreational visitor are likely physical (depth, access, fish species) rather than water-quality differences.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 12.2 ft | 21.1 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 15 µg/L | 14 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 1.7 µg/L | 0.9 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 90 ft Better | 74 ft |
| Surface Area | 5,139 acres | 3,294 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 6 | 6 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | 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.
Swap a lake
Compare Lac Courte Oreilles Lake or Round Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Lac Courte Oreilles Lake: 12.2 ft, Round Lake: 21.1 ft) and what you want from the lake. Lac Courte Oreilles Lake matches its peer on species count.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.