Swede Lake vs Whaletail Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Whaletail Lake has a higher water quality grade (D, Poor) than Swede Lake (F, Very Poor). Both are in Minnesota.
Swede Lake and Whaletail 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. The grades are close: Swede Lake (F) and Whaletail Lake (D) 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.
Swede Lake
Very murky, less than 2 ft of visibility.
Whaletail Lake
Very murky, less than 3.3 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Swede Lake | Whaletail Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | F (Very Poor) | D (Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 2 ft | 3.3 ft |
| Phosphorus | 134 µg/L | 45.8 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 76.9 µg/L | 19.4 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 12 ft | 22 ft |
| Surface Area | 433 acres | 510 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 9 | 13 |
| Trophic State | hypereutrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Whaletail Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade D versus Swede Lake's Grade F. Water clarity: 3.3 ft vs 2 ft. For fishing diversity, Whaletail Lake also leads with 13 species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.