Hattie Lake vs Norway Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Hattie Lake and Norway Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Cass County, Minnesota.
Hattie Lake and Norway 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Hattie Lake (A) versus Norway 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.
Hattie Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 10.3 ft.
Norway Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 6.9 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Hattie Lake | Norway Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 10.3 ft Better | 6.9 ft |
| Phosphorus | 16.5 µg/L Better | 21 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 4.5 µg/L Better | 5.1 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 30 ft Better | 12 ft |
| Surface Area | 588 acres | 515 acres |
| Public Access | No | Yes |
| Fish Species | 14 | 14 |
| 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 Hattie Lake or Norway Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Hattie Lake: 10.3 ft, Norway Lake: 6.9 ft) and what you want from the lake. Hattie Lake matches its peer on species count.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.