Lower Cullen Lake vs North Long Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Lower Cullen Lake and North Long Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Crow Wing County, Minnesota.
Both Lower Cullen Lake and North Long 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Lower Cullen Lake (A) versus North Long 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.
North Long Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 15.1 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Lower Cullen Lake | North Long Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 17.4 ft | 15.1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 14.5 µg/L | 14 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 39 ft | 97 ft |
| Surface Area | 559.97 acres | 6.2K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 16 | 18 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | mesotrophic |
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, North Long Lake: 15.1 ft) and what you want from the lake. Lower Cullen Lake has fewer fish species than North Long Lake.