Cannon Lake vs Cedar Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Cannon Lake and Cedar Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of D (Poor). Both are in Rice County, Minnesota.
Cannon Lake and Cedar 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Cannon Lake (D) versus Cedar Lake (D). 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.
Cannon Lake
Murky, only visible to about 4.1 ft.
Cedar Lake
Very murky, less than 2 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Cannon Lake | Cedar Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | D (Poor) | D (Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 4.1 ft | 2 ft |
| Phosphorus | 244 µg/L | 83 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 15 ft | 42 ft |
| Surface Area | 1.6K acres | 902.44 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 17 | 18 |
| Trophic State | hypereutrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade D. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Cannon Lake: 4.1 ft, Cedar Lake: 2 ft) and what you want from the lake. Cannon Lake has fewer fish species than Cedar Lake.