Cedar Lake vs Clearwater Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Clearwater Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Cedar Lake. Both are in Wright County, Minnesota.
Both Cedar Lake and Clearwater Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any differences in the readings here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies sampling them. The readings are close: Cedar Lake and Clearwater 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
Good clarity, visible to about 14.3 ft.
Clearwater Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 9.8 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Cedar Lake | Clearwater Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 14.3 ft Better | 9.8 ft |
| Phosphorus | 24 µg/L | 22 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 4.6 µg/L Better | 6.3 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 108 ft Better | 73 ft |
| Surface Area | 790 acres | 3,187 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 16 | 17 Better |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | 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.
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Verdict
Cedar Lake and Clearwater Lake read the same on nutrients and algae overall. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Cedar Lake: 14.3 ft, Clearwater Lake: 9.8 ft) and what you want from the lake. Cedar Lake has fewer fish species than Clearwater Lake.
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Where to stay near Cedar Lake and Clearwater Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.