Lower Hay Lake vs West Fox Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Lower Hay Lake and West Fox Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Crow Wing County, Minnesota.
Lower Hay Lake and West Fox 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 Hay Lake (A) versus West Fox 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 Hay Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 19 ft down.
West Fox Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 15 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Lower Hay Lake | West Fox Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 19 ft | 15 ft |
| Phosphorus | 13 µg/L | 12 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 100 ft | 55 ft |
| Surface Area | 700.21 acres | 449.42 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | No |
| 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 Hay Lake: 19 ft, West Fox Lake: 15 ft) and what you want from the lake. Lower Hay Lake matches its peer on species count.