Long Lake vs Shell Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Shell Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Long Lake. Both are in Washburn County, Wisconsin.
Long Lake and Shell Lake are both in Wisconsin — a same-state head-to-head where the comparison comes down to lake-specific differences in depth, watershed, and monitoring history rather than the broader state-level water-quality regime. The readings are close: Long Lake and Shell 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.
Long Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 9.5 ft.
Shell Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Long Lake | Shell Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 9.5 ft | 16 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 17.3 µg/L | 15.2 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | - | 36 ft |
| Surface Area | 3,290 acres | 2,513 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 0 | 6 Better |
| 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
Long Lake and Shell Lake read the same on nutrients and algae overall. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Long Lake: 9.5 ft, Shell Lake: 16 ft) and what you want from the lake. Long Lake has fewer fish species than Shell Lake.
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Where to stay near Long Lake and Shell Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.