Crystal Lake vs Lizzie Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Lizzie Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Crystal Lake (B, Good). Both are in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.
Crystal Lake and Lizzie 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 grades are close: Crystal Lake (B) and Lizzie Lake (A) are within one letter of each other on the LakeGrade rubric. The per-parameter sub-grades below will show where the small differences actually live.
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.
Crystal Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 10.2 ft.
Lizzie Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16.4 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Crystal Lake | Lizzie Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B (Good) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 10.2 ft | 16.4 ft |
| Phosphorus | 20 µg/L | 13 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 55 ft | 66 ft |
| Surface Area | 1.4K acres | 1.9K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Lizzie Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Crystal Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 16.4 ft vs 10.2 ft. For fishing diversity, Lizzie Lake also leads with 1 species.