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LakeQuality

Trout Lake vs Wabana Lake

Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.

Trout Lake and Wabana Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Itasca County, Minnesota.

Both Trout Lake and Wabana 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: Trout Lake (A) and Wabana Lake (A) 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.

A

Trout Lake

Itasca County, Minnesota

Crystal clear, you can see 18 ft down.

A

Wabana Lake

Itasca County, Minnesota

Crystal clear, you can see 18 ft down.

Side-by-Side Metrics

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

MetricTrout LakeWabana Lake
Overall GradeA (Excellent)A (Excellent)
Water Clarity18 ft18 ft
Phosphorus3.5 µg/L8 µg/L
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No dataNo data
Maximum Depth157 ft115 ft
Surface Area1.7K acres2.2K acres
Public AccessNoYes
Fish Species11
Trophic Stateoligotrophicoligotrophic

Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).

Verdict

Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Trout Lake: 18 ft, Wabana Lake: 18 ft) and what you want from the lake. Trout Lake matches its peer on species count.