Long Lake vs Third Crow Wing Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Long Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Third Crow Wing Lake. Both are in Hubbard County, Minnesota.
Both Long Lake and Third Crow Wing 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: Long Lake and Third Crow Wing 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.
Long Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11.2 ft.
Third Crow Wing Lake
Very murky, less than 2.5 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Long Lake | Third Crow Wing Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 11.2 ft Better | 2.5 ft |
| Phosphorus | 10 µg/L Better | 21 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 4.5 µg/L Better | 7.4 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 135 ft Better | 35 ft |
| Surface Area | 1,926 acres | 643 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 14 | 18 Better |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | eutrophic |
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
Long Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Third Crow Wing Lake. Water clarity: 11.2 ft vs 2.5 ft. For more fish-species variety, Third Crow Wing Lake edges ahead with 18 documented species.
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Where to stay near Long Lake and Third Crow Wing Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.