Portage Lake vs Potato Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Potato Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Portage Lake. Both are in Hubbard County, Minnesota.
Portage 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. Potato Lake reads materially cleaner than Portage Lake on nutrients and algae. A gap that wide is unlikely to close in a single year of remediation work; it reflects multi-decade differences in the lakes themselves.
For a recreational visitor, the wider gap in the readings is decisive: Potato 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?
Portage Lake
Murky, only visible to about 5.5 ft.
Potato Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11.5 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Portage Lake | Potato Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 5.5 ft | 11.5 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 30.5 µg/L | 11 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 11.2 µg/L | 3.9 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 17 ft | 87 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 429 acres | 2,096 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 12 | 15 Better |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | mesotrophic |
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
Potato Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Portage Lake. Water clarity: 11.5 ft vs 5.5 ft. For fishing diversity, Potato Lake also leads with 15 species.
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Where to stay near Portage Lake and Potato Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.