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LakeQuality

Maud Lake vs Pelican Lake

Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.

Maud Lake and Pelican Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Minnesota.

Both Maud Lake and Pelican 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: Maud Lake (A) and Pelican Lake (A) 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.

A

Maud Lake

Becker County, Minnesota

Crystal clear, you can see 15.3 ft down.

A

Pelican Lake

Otter Tail County, Minnesota

Crystal clear, you can see 16.1 ft down.

Side-by-Side Metrics

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

MetricMaud LakePelican Lake
Overall GradeA (Excellent)A (Excellent)
Water Clarity15.3 ft16.1 ft
Phosphorus10 µg/L15 µg/L
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No dataNo data
Maximum Depth32 ft55 ft
Surface Area517.01 acres4.0K acres
Public AccessYesYes
Fish Species11
Trophic Stateoligotrophicmesotrophic

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 (Maud Lake: 15.3 ft, Pelican Lake: 16.1 ft) and what you want from the lake. Maud Lake matches its peer on species count.