Lizzie Lake
Otter Tail County, Minnesota1,913 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Lizzie Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- zebra mussel
- 66 ft max depth
- Public access
Lizzie Lake in Otter Tail County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 16.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 13 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.7 µg/L. Maximum depth: 66 ft. Surface area: 1913.41 acres.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 9, 2025 caught 2.75 walleye per gill net at Lizzie Lake. DNR survey details →
Free interactive depth-contour map of Lizzie Lake, reaching a maximum surveyed depth of 60 ft. Toggle Depth contours to overlay the bathymetric survey lines. Contour data from Minnesota DNR.
Lizzie Lake is a 1,913-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Otter Tail County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 66 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. The lake supports 21 documented fish species including black bullhead, black crappie, and bluegill. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 65 other monitored lakes in Otter Tail County, Lizzie Lake ranks #15 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-09-22. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Lizzie Lake covers about 1,900 acres in Otter Tail County. It has one public boat landing. The median ice-out date is April 25, which is when the open-water season begins. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Lizzie Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Lizzie Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water16.4 ft of visibility
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Fishing21 species recorded
- Ice seasonIce-out around Apr 25
- Deep water66 ft surveyed max depth
- Big water1,913 acres
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLow algae
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Lizzie Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Lizzie Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota DNR and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Lizzie Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Lizzie Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Crystal clear, you can see 16.4 ft down. Phosphorus 13 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 2.7 µg/L. TSI 39.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 16.4ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 13µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 2.7µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 39 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Lizzie Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Blue-Green Algae (Cyanobacteria)
There’s no recent EPA CyAN cyanobacteria estimate for Lizzie Lake — clouds, ice, or an off-season gap in coverage. The most recent reading was moderate (20,137 cells/mL) on April 25, 2026.
Blue-green algae can appear and clear within days, so check your state’s current advisory before swimming. EPA CyAN ↗
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 9, 2025 caught 2.75 walleye per gill net at Lizzie Lake.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Lizzie Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
15 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2025-06-09 (Standard Survey).
15 surveys on file · most recent 2025-06-09 (Standard Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluntnose Minnow | 20.83 | ||
| Green Sunfish | 18.76 | 4 in 2025-06-09 | 0.08 lb |
| Bluegill | 16.60 | 3–8 in 2025-06-09 | 0.16 lb |
| Spottail Shiner | 11.55 |
CPUE = catch per unit effort, fish caught per net per set in a standardised survey. It measures abundance, not size, and is not a weekly bite report.
Length Distributions
Number of fish caught at each inch class in the most recent survey that recorded lengths. Red dashed line marks an approximate trophy threshold for that species.
Green Sunfish
Bluegill
From the 2025-06-09 survey
Lizzie Lake is a 4,035-acre mesotrophic (moderately fertile) lake located in northwestern Otter Tail County approximately six miles northeast of Pelican Rapids, MN. Lizzie Lake is located within the Otter Tail River Watershed. Lizzie Lake is connected to Pelican Lake and Prairie Lake via the Pelican River. The Pelican…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Lizzie Lake. 3 reports on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — Lizzie (north portion)Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Fish Stocking History — Lizzie (north portion)Fish Stocking History · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Public Water Access Sites — Lizzie (north portion)Public Water Access Sites · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
66 ft
Surface area
1,913 acres
Shoreline
9.7 mi
Littoral zone
43%
Share shallower than 15 ft
Public access
Yes
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
332 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,302 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS).
Recreation & Access
- Lizzie LakePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Lizzie Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lizzie Lake in Otter Tail County, Minnesota — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water.
Top-rated places to stay near Lizzie Lake
Prices for Oct 9–11, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
Planning a whole trip? See where to stay at Minnesota’s top lakes →
Follow Lizzie Lake’s readings
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Lizzie Lake
Invasive & Introduced Species
Red chips are ecologically harmful invasive species. Gray chips are stocked or introduced fish that aren't a current ecological concern.
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Stable6 years
Phosphorus
Stable-0.13 µg/L/yr6 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.09 µg/L/yr6 years
Ice season
Typical ice-out
Apr 25
Earliest Apr 11, 2015 · Latest Apr 30, 2018
Typical ice-in
Nov 24
Earliest Nov 13, 2018 · Latest Nov 30, 2024
Most recent ice-out
Apr 25
2019
7 observations · Minnesota PCA ice records
EPA Impairment Status
Lizzie Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MN56-0760-01 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Otter Tail County
Frequently asked questions about Lizzie Lake
Where is Lizzie Lake?
- Lizzie Lake is a lake in Otter Tail County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lizzie Lake?
- Lizzie Lake in Otter Tail County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 16.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 13 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.7 µg/L. Maximum depth: 66 ft. Surface area: 1913.41 acres.
Is Lizzie Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Lizzie Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lizzie Lake?
- Lizzie Lake has a maximum depth of 66 feet. The lake covers 1913.41 acres.
What fish are in Lizzie Lake?
- Fish species found in Lizzie Lake include black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, freshwater drum, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, muskellunge, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, shorthead redhorse, smallmouth bass, tullibee (cisco), walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, yellow perch. Lizzie Lake is located in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.
What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Lizzie Lake?
- Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 9, 2025 caught 2.75 walleye per gill net at Lizzie Lake. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Lizzie Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
When does Lizzie Lake thaw?
- Lizzie Lake typically has ice-out around Apr 25. Ice typically forms around Nov 24. The open water season is approximately 213 days.
Does Lizzie Lake have blue-green algae?
- There is no recent EPA CyAN cyanobacteria estimate for Lizzie Lake (clouds, ice, or an off-season gap). The most recent reading was moderate (20,137 cells/mL). Blue-green algae can appear and clear within days, so check Minnesota's current advisory before swimming.
Are there boat ramps on Lizzie Lake?
- Lizzie Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Lizzie Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Lizzie Lake?
- Lizzie Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Minnesota's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Lizzie Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
109 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA109 samples · 2020–2025
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
- Phosphorus by Two Reagent Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
Monitoring station identifiers (2)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory
Ice data from Minnesota DNR Climate