Mud Lake vs Tamarac Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Mud Lake and Tamarac Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Becker County, Minnesota.
Mud Lake and Tamarac 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: Mud Lake (A) and Tamarac 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.
Mud Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 12.5 ft.
Tamarac Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 6.9 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Mud Lake | Tamarac Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 12.5 ft | 6.9 ft |
| Phosphorus | 22 µg/L | 20 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 5.9 µg/L | 6.2 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 34 ft | 34 ft |
| Surface Area | 1,178 acres | 1,178 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 16 | 16 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | mesotrophic |
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 (Mud Lake: 12.5 ft, Tamarac Lake: 6.9 ft) and what you want from the lake. Mud Lake matches its peer on species count.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.