Long Lake vs Third Crow Wing Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Long Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Third Crow Wing Lake (B, Good). 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 grade differences here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies grading them. The grades are close: Long Lake (A) and Third Crow Wing Lake (B) are within one letter of each other on the LakeGrade rubric. The per-parameter sub-grades below will show where the small differences actually live.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 11.2 ft | 2.5 ft |
| Phosphorus | 10 µg/L | 21 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 4.5 µg/L | 7.4 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 135 ft | 35 ft |
| Surface Area | 1,926 acres | 643 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 14 | 18 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Long Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Third Crow Wing Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 11.2 ft vs 2.5 ft. For more fish-species variety, Third Crow Wing Lake edges ahead with 18 documented species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.