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Inguadona Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Lower Trelipe Lake. Both are in Cass County, Minnesota.

Reviewed by LakeQuality Editorial Team · Updated

Inguadona Lake and Lower Trelipe 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. Inguadona Lake reads materially cleaner than Lower Trelipe Lake on nutrients and algae. A gap that wide is unlikely to close in a single year of remediation work; it reflects multi-decade differences in the lakes themselves.

For a recreational visitor, the wider gap in the readings is decisive: Inguadona Lake has the lower nutrient and algae numbers. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?

Inguadona Lake

Cass County, Minnesota

Good clarity, visible to about 12 ft.

Lower Trelipe Lake

Cass County, Minnesota

Moderate clarity, visible to about 6.9 ft.

Side-by-Side Metrics

MetricInguadona LakeLower Trelipe Lake
Water Clarity12 ft Better6.9 ft
Phosphorus15 µg/L Better23 µg/L
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)4.5 µg/L Better11.9 µg/L
Maximum Depth79 ft Better32 ft
Surface Area1,133 acres618 acres
Public AccessYesYes
Fish Species20 Better16
Trophic Statemesotrophiceutrophic

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.

Verdict

Inguadona Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Lower Trelipe Lake. Water clarity: 12 ft vs 6.9 ft. For fishing diversity, Inguadona Lake also leads with 20 species.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.