Mud Lake
Otter Tail County, MinnesotaView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Mud Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- zebra mussel
- 33 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Mud Lake in Otter Tail County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.6 ft visibility.
Mud Lake is a lake in Otter Tail County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 33 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2021-06-07. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Mud Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Mud 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 Mud Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Mud Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 1.6 ft of visibility. TSI 70.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 70 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Mud Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~33 ft est.
Public access
Yes
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Minnesota has not published bathymetry for Mud Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
3 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
346 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.3 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,322 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Recreation & Access
- Little Pine Lake (Southwest)Public
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
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Stays near Mud Lake
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Fishing Mud 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.
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
2 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Mud Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 2 facilities have a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Bongards' Creameries - PerhamPerham · 2.3 mi away · NPDES MN0047228Recent violation
- Perham Resource Recovery FacilityPerham · 2.5 mi away · NPDES MN0067415Recent violation
Facilities permitted to discharge under the Clean Water Act within ~5 miles; proximity does not by itself mean a facility affects this lake. Source: EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES), as of 2026-07.
Nearby Lakes in Otter Tail County
Frequently asked questions about Mud Lake
Where is Mud Lake?
- Mud 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 Mud Lake?
- Mud Lake in Otter Tail County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.6 ft visibility.
Is Mud Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Mud Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Mud Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 33 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Are there boat ramps on Mud Lake?
- Mud Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Little Pine Lake (Southwest). Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Mud Lake?
- Mud 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.
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Where this data comes from
2 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA2 samples · 2021
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory