Silver Island Lake vs Wilson Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Silver Island Lake and Wilson Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Lake County, Minnesota.
Both Silver Island Lake and Wilson 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Silver Island Lake (A) versus Wilson Lake (A). The deciding factors for a recreational visitor are likely physical (depth, access, fish species) rather than water-quality differences.
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.
Silver Island Lake
Murky, only visible to about 4.4 ft.
Wilson Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 10.7 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Silver Island Lake | Wilson Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 4.4 ft | 10.7 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 22 µg/L | 13.5 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 5.9 µg/L | 2.7 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 16 ft | 53 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 1,239 acres | 650 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 11 Better | 4 |
| 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.
Swap a lake
Compare Silver Island Lake or Wilson Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Silver Island Lake: 4.4 ft, Wilson Lake: 10.7 ft) and what you want from the lake. Silver Island Lake supports more documented fish species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.