Spirit Lake vs Upper Estuary Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Spirit Lake and Upper Estuary Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of D (Poor).
Spirit Lake is in Wisconsin; Upper Estuary Lake is in Minnesota. Cross-state comparisons carry an extra wrinkle — Wisconsin DNR and Minnesota PCA use slightly different sampling cadences and station coverage, though both feed the same EPA Water Quality Portal. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Spirit Lake (D) versus Upper Estuary Lake (D). 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.
Spirit Lake
Very murky, less than 1.3 ft of visibility.
Upper Estuary Lake
Very murky, less than 1.9 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Spirit Lake | Upper Estuary Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | D (Poor) | D (Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 1.3 ft | 1.9 ft |
| Phosphorus | 59.5 µg/L | 49 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | - | 55 ft |
| Surface Area | 996 acres | 10.3K acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Yes |
| Fish Species | 0 | 33 |
| 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 D. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Spirit Lake: 1.3 ft, Upper Estuary Lake: 1.9 ft) and what you want from the lake. Spirit Lake has fewer fish species than Upper Estuary Lake.