Spirit Lake vs Whitefish Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Whitefish Lake has a higher water quality grade (B, Good) than Spirit Lake (C, Fair). Both are in Douglas County, Wisconsin.
Both Spirit Lake and Whitefish Lake sit in Wisconsin. 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 — Spirit Lake (C) versus Whitefish Lake (B). 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.
Whitefish Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 25 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Spirit Lake | Whitefish Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | C (Fair) | B (Good) Better |
| Water Clarity | 1.3 ft | 25 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 59.5 µg/L | 11 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 1.5 µg/L | No data |
| Maximum Depth | - | 102 ft |
| Surface Area | 996 acres | 848 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 0 | 5 Better |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | oligotrophic |
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 Spirit Lake or Whitefish Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Whitefish Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade B versus Spirit Lake's Grade C. Water clarity: 25 ft vs 1.3 ft. For fishing diversity, Whitefish Lake also leads with 5 species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.