What is the difference between North Turtle Lake and Pelican Lake?

North Turtle Lake (Otter Tail County) carries readings with 4 ft clarity and 19 ft max depth. Pelican Lake (Otter Tail County) carries readings with 16.4 ft clarity and 55 ft max depth.

Is North Turtle Lake or Pelican Lake better for fishing?

North Turtle Lake has 12 documented fish species. Pelican Lake has 20. The lake with more species and better water clarity (Secchi depth) generally supports more diverse and successful fishing.

North Turtle Lake vs Pelican Lake, Water Quality Comparison

Pelican Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than North Turtle Lake. Both are in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.

Reviewed by LakeQuality Editorial Team · Updated Aug 26, 2026

Both North Turtle Lake and Pelican Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any differences in the readings here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies sampling them. Pelican Lake reads materially cleaner than North Turtle Lake on nutrients and algae. A gap that wide is unlikely to close in a single year of remediation work; it reflects multi-decade differences in the lakes themselves.

For a recreational visitor, the wider gap in the readings is decisive: Pelican Lake has the lower nutrient and algae numbers. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?

North Turtle Lake

Otter Tail County, Minnesota

Murky, only visible to about 4 ft.

Pelican Lake

Otter Tail County, Minnesota

Crystal clear, you can see 16.4 ft down.

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Side-by-Side Metrics

Metric	North Turtle Lake	Pelican Lake
Water Clarity	4 ft	16.4 ft Better
Phosphorus	54.5 µg/L	15 µg/L Better
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)	22 µg/L	3 µg/L Better
Maximum Depth	19 ft	55 ft Better
Surface Area	1,773 acres	3,962 acres
Public Access	Yes	Yes
Fish Species	12	20 Better
Trophic State	eutrophic	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.

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Compare North Turtle Lake or Pelican Lake against a different lake.

North Turtle Lake vs South Turtle Lake North Turtle Lake vs Silver Lake Deer Lake vs North Turtle Lake Otter Tail Lake vs Pelican Lake Dead Lake vs Pelican Lake Pelican Lake vs West Battle Lake

Verdict

Pelican Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than North Turtle Lake. Water clarity: 16.4 ft vs 4 ft. For fishing diversity, Pelican Lake also leads with 20 species.

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Where to stay near North Turtle Lake and Pelican Lake

Compare cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals around North Turtle Lake and Pelican Lake. Both lakes are pinned on the map, so you can see which stays sit nearer the one you pick. Switch to Satellite to see how close each is to the water.

Top-rated places to stay near North Turtle Lake and Pelican Lake

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Full North Turtle Lake report →Full Pelican Lake report →All Otter Tail County lakes →Cleanest lakes in Minnesota →

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.