Deer Lake vs Silver Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Deer Lake and Silver Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.
Both Deer Lake and Silver Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any grade differences here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies grading them. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Deer Lake (A) versus Silver Lake (A). The deciding factors for a recreational visitor are likely physical (depth, access, fish species) rather than water-quality differences.
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.
Deer Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 12.3 ft.
Silver Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 12.1 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Deer Lake | Silver Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 12.3 ft Better | 12.1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 21 µg/L | 16 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 4.8 µg/L | 4.4 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 26 ft | 43 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 447 acres | 529 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 16 Better | 13 |
| 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.
Swap a lake
Compare Deer Lake or Silver Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Deer Lake: 12.3 ft, Silver Lake: 12.1 ft) and what you want from the lake. Deer Lake supports more documented fish species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.