Skip to main content
LakeQuality

Pelican Lake vs Wall Lake

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

Pelican Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Wall Lake (B, Good). Both are in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.

Both Pelican Lake and Wall 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Pelican Lake (A) versus Wall Lake (B). 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.

A

Pelican Lake

Otter Tail County, Minnesota

Crystal clear, you can see 16.1 ft down.

B

Wall Lake

Otter Tail County, Minnesota

Moderate clarity, visible to about 8.5 ft.

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.

MetricPelican LakeWall Lake
Overall GradeA (Excellent)B (Good)
Water Clarity16.1 ft8.5 ft
Phosphorus15 µg/L21 µg/L
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No dataNo data
Maximum Depth55 ft34 ft
Surface Area4.0K acres726.67 acres
Public AccessYesYes
Fish Species11
Trophic Statemesotrophicmesotrophic

Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).

Verdict

Pelican Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Wall Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 16.1 ft vs 8.5 ft. For fishing diversity, Pelican Lake also leads with 1 species.