Minnewashta Lake vs Swede Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Minnewashta Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Swede Lake. Both are in Carver County, Minnesota.
Minnewashta Lake and Swede 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 readings are meaningfully apart: Minnewashta Lake carries clearly lower phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings than Swede 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: Minnewashta 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?
Minnewashta Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11.5 ft.
Swede Lake
Very murky, less than 2 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Minnewashta Lake | Swede Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 11.5 ft Better | 2 ft |
| Phosphorus | 14 µg/L Better | 134 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 2.3 µg/L Better | 76.9 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 70 ft Better | 12 ft |
| Surface Area | 680 acres | 433 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 14 Better | 9 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | hypereutrophic |
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
Minnewashta Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Swede Lake. Water clarity: 11.5 ft vs 2 ft. For fishing diversity, Minnewashta Lake also leads with 14 species.
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Where to stay near Minnewashta Lake and Swede Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.