Clearwater Lake vs Pelican Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Clearwater Lake and Pelican Lake read the same on nutrients and algae. Both are in Crow Wing County, Minnesota.
Both Clearwater Lake and Pelican 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: Clearwater Lake and Pelican 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.
Clearwater Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13 ft.
Pelican Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 14.3 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Clearwater Lake | Pelican Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 13 ft | 14.3 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 12 µg/L | 11 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 3.7 µg/L | 2.7 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 54 ft | 104 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 905 acres | 8,367 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 16 | 17 Better |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | 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.
Swap a lake
Compare Clearwater Lake or Pelican Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Clearwater Lake: 13 ft, Pelican Lake: 14.3 ft) and what you want from the lake. Clearwater Lake has fewer fish species than Pelican Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.