Big Trout Lake vs Hen Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Big Trout Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Hen Lake. Both are in Crow Wing County, Minnesota.
Big Trout Lake and Hen 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: Big Trout Lake and Hen 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.
Big Trout Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16.9 ft down.
Hen Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 17.1 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Big Trout Lake | Hen Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 16.9 ft | 17.1 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 10 µg/L Better | 14 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 2.1 µg/L Better | 2.4 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 128 ft Better | 105 ft |
| Surface Area | 1,366 acres | 858 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | No |
| Fish Species | 20 | 21 Better |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | 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.
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Verdict
Big Trout Lake and Hen Lake read the same on nutrients and algae overall. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Big Trout Lake: 16.9 ft, Hen Lake: 17.1 ft) and what you want from the lake. Big Trout Lake has fewer fish species than Hen Lake.
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Where to stay near Big Trout Lake and Hen Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.