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

Silver Lake (Otter Tail County) carries readings with 12.1 ft clarity and 43 ft max depth. South Turtle Lake (Otter Tail County) carries readings with 14.1 ft clarity and 35 ft max depth.

Is Silver Lake or South Turtle Lake better for fishing?

Silver Lake has 13 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.

Silver Lake vs South Turtle Lake, Water Quality Comparison

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

Reviewed by LakeQuality Editorial Team · Updated Aug 26, 2026

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 differences in the readings here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies sampling them. The readings are close: Silver Lake and South Turtle 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.

Silver Lake

Otter Tail County, Minnesota

Good clarity, visible to about 12.1 ft.

South Turtle Lake

Otter Tail County, Minnesota

Good clarity, visible to about 14.1 ft.

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Side-by-Side Metrics

Metric	Silver Lake	South Turtle Lake
Water Clarity	12.1 ft	14.1 ft Better
Phosphorus	16 µg/L Better	20 µg/L
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)	4.4 µg/L	3.7 µg/L Better
Maximum Depth	43 ft Better	35 ft
Surface Area	529 acres	837 acres
Public Access	Yes	Yes
Fish Species	13	13
Trophic State	mesotrophic	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 Silver Lake or South Turtle Lake against a different lake.

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

Verdict

Silver Lake and South Turtle Lake read the same on nutrients and algae overall. 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.

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Where to stay near Silver Lake and South Turtle Lake

Compare cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals around Silver Lake and South Turtle 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 Silver Lake and South Turtle Lake

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

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.