Silver Lake vs South Turtle Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Silver Lake and South Turtle Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.
Both Silver Lake and South Turtle 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: Silver Lake (A) and South Turtle 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.
Silver Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 12.1 ft.
South Turtle Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 14.1 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Silver Lake | South Turtle Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 12.1 ft | 14.1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 16 µg/L | 20 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 4.4 µg/L | 3.7 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 43 ft | 35 ft |
| Surface Area | 529 acres | 837 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 13 | 13 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | mesotrophic |
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 (Silver Lake: 12.1 ft, South Turtle Lake: 14.1 ft) and what you want from the lake. Silver Lake matches its peer on species count.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.