Deer Lake vs Pelican Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Deer Lake and Pelican Lake read the same on nutrients and algae. Both are in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.
Both Deer 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: Deer 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.
Deer Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 12.3 ft.
Pelican Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16.4 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Deer Lake | Pelican Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 12.3 ft | 16.4 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 21 µg/L | 15 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 4.8 µg/L | 3 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 26 ft | 55 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 447 acres | 3,962 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 16 | 20 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
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Deer Lake: 12.3 ft, Pelican Lake: 16.4 ft) and what you want from the lake. Deer Lake has fewer fish species than Pelican Lake.
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Where to stay near Deer Lake and Pelican Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.