Shallow Lake vs Sugar Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Shallow Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Sugar Lake (B, Good). Both are in Itasca County, Minnesota.
Both Shallow Lake and Sugar Lake sit in Minnesota. 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: Shallow Lake (A) and Sugar Lake (B) 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.
Shallow Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16.4 ft down.
Sugar Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Shallow Lake | Sugar Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 16.4 ft | 7 ft |
| Phosphorus | 9 µg/L | 16 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | 4.9 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 85 ft | 22 ft |
| Surface Area | 538.95 acres | 1.5K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | No |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Shallow Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Sugar Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 16.4 ft vs 7 ft. For fishing diversity, Shallow Lake also leads with 1 species.