Otter Tail River Lake

Otter Tail River Lake carries a solid B grade — strong on most parameters, with measurements that hold up well across the summer season.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Minnesota lakes fall. The lake's 55 ft maximum depth is in the upper tier for Minnesota — deep enough for cold-water fish to find refuge in summer. At 313 acres, Otter Tail River Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 9.1 miles of shoreline. Otter Tail River Lake sits at rank 59 of 97 in Otter Tail County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

Zebra mussels have been documented at Otter Tail River Lake, which alters the filter-feeding balance and can paradoxically increase water clarity while disrupting the food web. 3 fish species are on record, with panfish making up the recreational core. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. Monitoring depth is thin here: the LakeGrade rubric is applied to a small number of sample years, and the grade will be revised as more data accumulates.