Lobster Lake vs Mill Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Lobster Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Mill Lake. Both are in Douglas County, Minnesota.
Both Lobster Lake and Mill Lake sit in Minnesota. 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 meaningfully apart: Lobster Lake carries clearly lower phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings than Mill Lake. A spread that wide reflects real underlying differences, in watershed inputs, depth profiles, or monitoring rigor.
For a recreational visitor, the wider gap in the readings is decisive: Lobster Lake has the lower nutrient and algae numbers. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?
Lobster Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13 ft.
Mill Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Lobster Lake | Mill Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 13 ft Better | 11 ft |
| Phosphorus | 20.5 µg/L Better | 23 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 3.6 µg/L Better | 9 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 65 ft Better | 40 ft |
| Surface Area | 1,334 acres | 451 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 18 Better | 15 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | 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.
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Verdict
Lobster Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Mill Lake. Water clarity: 13 ft vs 11 ft. For fishing diversity, Lobster Lake also leads with 18 species.
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.