Lake Owen vs Lower Eau Claire Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Lake Owen and Lower Eau Claire Lake read the same on nutrients and algae. Both are in Bayfield County, Wisconsin.
Both Lake Owen and Lower Eau Claire 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. The readings are close: Lake Owen and Lower Eau Claire 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.
Lake Owen
Crystal clear, you can see 24.6 ft down.
Lower Eau Claire Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 14.1 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Lake Owen | Lower Eau Claire Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 24.6 ft Better | 14.1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 12.5 µg/L Better | 13 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 95 ft Better | 41 ft |
| Surface Area | 1,250 acres | 784 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 5 | 6 Better |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | mesotrophic |
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 Lake Owen or Lower Eau Claire Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade B. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Lake Owen: 24.6 ft, Lower Eau Claire Lake: 14.1 ft) and what you want from the lake. Lake Owen has fewer fish species than Lower Eau Claire Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.