Lower Bottle Lake vs Potato Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Lower Bottle Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Potato Lake (A, Excellent). Both are in Hubbard County, Minnesota.
Lower Bottle Lake and Potato Lake are both in Minnesota — 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 grades are close: Lower Bottle Lake (A) and Potato 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.
Lower Bottle Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 15 ft down.
Potato Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 12 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Lower Bottle Lake | Potato Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 15 ft | 12 ft |
| Phosphorus | 10 µg/L | 11 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 110 ft | 87 ft |
| Surface Area | 641.17 acres | 2.1K acres |
| Public Access | No | Yes |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Lower Bottle Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Potato Lake's Grade A. Water clarity: 15 ft vs 12 ft. For fishing diversity, Lower Bottle Lake also leads with 1 species.