Lake Ashtabula vs Spiritwood Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Spiritwood Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Lake Ashtabula (B, Good). Both are in North Dakota.
Both Lake Ashtabula and Spiritwood Lake sit in North Dakota. 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. The grades are close: Lake Ashtabula (B) and Spiritwood Lake (A) are within one letter of each other on the LakeGrade rubric. The per-parameter sub-grades below will show where the small differences actually live.
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.
Lake Ashtabula
Murky, only visible to about 3.4 ft.
Spiritwood Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 31 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Lake Ashtabula | Spiritwood Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B (Good) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 3.4 ft | 31 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 3.3 µg/L | 5.5 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 42.8 ft | 54.7 ft |
| Surface Area | 5.2K acres | 493.3 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 10 | 5 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Spiritwood Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Lake Ashtabula's Grade B. Water clarity: 31 ft vs 3.4 ft. For more fish-species variety, Lake Ashtabula edges ahead with 10 documented species.