Lower Cullen Lake vs Lower Hay Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Lower Cullen Lake and Lower Hay Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Crow Wing County, Minnesota.
Lower Cullen Lake and Lower Hay 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 — Lower Cullen Lake (A) versus Lower Hay 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.
Lower Cullen Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 17.4 ft down.
Lower Hay Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 19 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Lower Cullen Lake | Lower Hay Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 17.4 ft | 19 ft |
| Phosphorus | 14.5 µg/L | 13 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 39 ft | 100 ft |
| Surface Area | 559.97 acres | 700.21 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Lower Cullen Lake: 17.4 ft, Lower Hay Lake: 19 ft) and what you want from the lake. Lower Cullen Lake matches its peer on species count.