Baby Lake vs Man Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Baby Lake and Man Lake read the same on nutrients and algae. Both are in Cass County, Minnesota.
Baby Lake and Man 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 readings are close: Baby Lake and Man Lake sit within a narrow band of each other on phosphorus, chlorophyll-a and clarity. The per-parameter table below shows where the small differences actually live.
With readings 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.
Baby Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 12.5 ft.
Man Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Baby Lake | Man Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 12.5 ft Better | 11 ft |
| Phosphorus | 10 µg/L | 10 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 2.9 µg/L | 2.7 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 69 ft | 93 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 737 acres | 491 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | No |
| Fish Species | 16 Better | 14 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | 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 Baby Lake or Man Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Baby Lake: 12.5 ft, Man Lake: 11 ft) and what you want from the lake. Baby Lake supports more documented fish species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.