Mule Lake vs Wabedo Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Mule Lake and Wabedo Lake read the same on nutrients and algae. Both are in Cass County, Minnesota.
Mule Lake and Wabedo 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. The readings are close: Mule Lake and Wabedo Lake sit within a narrow band of each other on phosphorus, chlorophyll-a and clarity. The per-parameter table below shows where the small differences actually live.
With readings 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.
Mule Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 18 ft down.
Wabedo Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 10.5 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Mule Lake | Wabedo Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 18 ft Better | 10.5 ft |
| Phosphorus | 10 µg/L Better | 16 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 2.4 µg/L Better | 4.9 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 47 ft | 95 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 525 acres | 1,226 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 11 | 19 Better |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | mesotrophic |
A green ✓ marks the better value for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better). Surface area and trophic state carry no tick — a bigger lake is not a better lake.
Swap a lake
Compare Mule Lake or Wabedo Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Mule Lake: 18 ft, Wabedo Lake: 10.5 ft) and what you want from the lake. Mule Lake has fewer fish species than Wabedo Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.