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

North Turtle Lake (Otter Tail County) carries readings with 4 ft clarity and 19 ft max depth. South Turtle Lake (Otter Tail County) carries readings with 14.1 ft clarity and 35 ft max depth.

Is North Turtle Lake or South Turtle Lake better for fishing?

North Turtle Lake has 12 documented fish species. South Turtle Lake has 13. The lake with more species and better water clarity (Secchi depth) generally supports more diverse and successful fishing.

North Turtle Lake vs South Turtle Lake, Water Quality Comparison

South Turtle 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 South Turtle 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. The readings are meaningfully apart: South Turtle Lake carries clearly lower phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings than North Turtle Lake. A spread that wide reflects real underlying differences, in watershed inputs, depth profiles, or monitoring rigor.

For a recreational visitor, the wider gap in the readings is decisive: South Turtle 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.

South Turtle Lake

Otter Tail County, Minnesota

Good clarity, visible to about 14.1 ft.

Stay near South Turtle Lake →Swap a lake

Side-by-Side Metrics

Metric	North Turtle Lake	South Turtle Lake
Water Clarity	4 ft	14.1 ft Better
Phosphorus	54.5 µg/L	20 µg/L Better
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)	22 µg/L	3.7 µg/L Better
Maximum Depth	19 ft	35 ft Better
Surface Area	1,773 acres	837 acres
Public Access	Yes	Yes
Fish Species	12	13 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 South Turtle Lake against a different lake.

North Turtle Lake vs Silver Lake North Turtle Lake vs Pelican Lake Deer Lake vs North Turtle Lake South Turtle Lake vs Stalker Lake Silver Lake vs South Turtle Lake Pelican Lake vs South Turtle Lake

Verdict

South Turtle Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than North Turtle Lake. Water clarity: 14.1 ft vs 4 ft. For fishing diversity, South Turtle Lake also leads with 13 species.

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

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.