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LakeQuality

Lake St. Croix vs St. Croix 1.5 Mi. Upstream of Point Douglas Dr Lake

Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.

Lake St. Croix has a higher water quality grade (B, Good) than St. Croix 1.5 Mi. Upstream of Point Douglas Dr Lake (C, Fair). Both are in Washington County, Minnesota.

Both Lake St. Croix and St. Croix 1.5 Mi. Upstream of Point Douglas Dr Lake sit in Minnesota. 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 — Lake St. Croix (B) versus St. Croix 1.5 Mi. Upstream of Point Douglas Dr Lake (C). 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.

B

Lake St. Croix

Washington County, Minnesota

Murky, only visible to about 5.2 ft.

Moderate clarity, visible to about 9.4 ft.

Side-by-Side Metrics

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

MetricLake St. CroixSt. Croix 1.5 Mi. Upstream of Point Douglas Dr Lake
Overall GradeB (Good)C (Fair)
Water Clarity5.2 ft9.4 ft
Phosphorus18 µg/L30 µg/L
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No dataNo data
Maximum Depth78 ft78 ft
Surface Area8.4K acres8.4K acres
Public AccessNoNo
Fish Species11
Trophic Statemesotrophicmesotrophic

Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).

Verdict

Lake St. Croix wins on overall water quality with a Grade B versus St. Croix 1.5 Mi. Upstream of Point Douglas Dr Lake's Grade C. Water clarity: 5.2 ft vs 9.4 ft. For fishing diversity, Lake St. Croix also leads with 1 species.