Waverly Lake vs Winsted Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Waverly Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Winsted Lake. Both are in Minnesota.
Waverly Lake and Winsted Lake are both in Minnesota — a same-state head-to-head where the comparison comes down to lake-specific differences in depth, watershed, and monitoring history rather than the broader state-level water-quality regime. The readings are meaningfully apart: Waverly Lake carries clearly lower phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings than Winsted 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: Waverly 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?
Waverly Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 6.9 ft.
Winsted Lake
Very murky, less than 3.3 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Waverly Lake | Winsted Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 6.9 ft Better | 3.3 ft |
| Phosphorus | 29 µg/L Better | 547 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 8 µg/L Better | 52.3 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 70.5 ft Better | 12 ft |
| Surface Area | 494 acres | 382 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 17 Better | 13 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | hypereutrophic |
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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Verdict
Waverly Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Winsted Lake. Water clarity: 6.9 ft vs 3.3 ft. For fishing diversity, Waverly Lake also leads with 17 species.
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.