Pelican Lake

Pelican Lake sits at the top of the Minnesota PCA grading rubric with an A, a mark reached by the cleanest lakes in Minnesota. Sub-grades cluster within a single letter of each other, which usually means the lake is in stable trophic balance rather than fighting one specific stressor.

A TSI near 40 places Pelican Lake in the mesotrophic band — moderate productivity, with seasonal swings between clearer spring water and richer late-summer conditions. At 55 ft of maximum depth, Pelican Lake stratifies reliably through the summer — the hypolimnion stays cooler and clearer than the surface layer suggests. Pelican Lake covers 3,962 acres alongside 17.1 miles of shoreline, large enough that conditions can vary meaningfully between bays. Within Otter Tail County's 97 graded waters, Pelican Lake sits at rank 1, near the top of the local distribution.

Zebra mussel presence at Pelican Lake means the lake's clarity numbers carry an asterisk — filtered water is not the same as nutrient-poor water. Pelican Lake's fishery is anchored by muskellunge, with 20 documented species in total — a destination water for muskie anglers. A documented public access point at Pelican Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. The lake has a partial ice record — 11 observed ice-outs, centered near Apr 19. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.