Cedar Lake vs French Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Cedar Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than French Lake. Both are in Rice County, Minnesota.
Cedar Lake and French 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: Cedar Lake and French 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.
Cedar Lake
Very murky, less than 2 ft of visibility.
French Lake
Very murky, less than 1.7 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Cedar Lake | French Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 2 ft Better | 1.7 ft |
| Phosphorus | 91 µg/L Better | 134 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 72.6 µg/L | 46.3 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 42 ft | 56 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 902 acres | 876 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 18 Better | 16 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | hypereutrophic |
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
Cedar Lake and French Lake read the same on nutrients and algae overall. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Cedar Lake: 2 ft, French Lake: 1.7 ft) and what you want from the lake. Cedar Lake supports more documented fish species.
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Where to stay near Cedar Lake and French Lake
Compare cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals around Cedar Lake and French Lake. Both lakes are pinned on the map, so you can see which stays sit nearer the one you pick. Switch to Satellite to see how close each is to the water.
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.