North Stanchfield Lake vs South Stanchfield Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
North Stanchfield Lake and South Stanchfield Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of F (Very Poor). Both are in Isanti County, Minnesota.
North Stanchfield Lake and South Stanchfield 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: North Stanchfield Lake (F) and South Stanchfield Lake (F) 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.
North Stanchfield Lake
Very murky, less than 2.8 ft of visibility.
South Stanchfield Lake
Very murky, less than 2.5 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | North Stanchfield Lake | South Stanchfield Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | F (Very Poor) | F (Very Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 2.8 ft | 2.5 ft |
| Phosphorus | 171 µg/L | 119 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 50.7 µg/L | 33.4 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 363 acres | 363 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 1 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade F. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (North Stanchfield Lake: 2.8 ft, South Stanchfield Lake: 2.5 ft) and what you want from the lake. North Stanchfield Lake has fewer fish species than South Stanchfield Lake.