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LakeQuality

Lower Eau Claire Lake vs Middle Eau Claire Lake

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

Lower Eau Claire Lake and Middle Eau Claire Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Bayfield County, Wisconsin.

Both Lower Eau Claire Lake and Middle Eau Claire Lake sit in Wisconsin. 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. The grades are close: Lower Eau Claire Lake (A) and Middle Eau Claire 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.

A

Lower Eau Claire Lake

Bayfield County, Wisconsin

Crystal clear, you can see 18.5 ft down.

A

Middle Eau Claire Lake

Bayfield County, Wisconsin

Crystal clear, you can see 17.3 ft down.

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.

MetricLower Eau Claire LakeMiddle Eau Claire Lake
Overall GradeA (Excellent)A (Excellent)
Water Clarity18.5 ft17.3 ft
PhosphorusNo data12.8 µg/L
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No dataNo data
Maximum Depth--
Surface Area802 acres902 acres
Public AccessUnknownUnknown
Fish Species00
Trophic Stateoligotrophicoligotrophic

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

Verdict

Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Lower Eau Claire Lake: 18.5 ft, Middle Eau Claire Lake: 17.3 ft) and what you want from the lake. Lower Eau Claire Lake matches its peer on species count.