Aerie Lake
St. Louis County, Minnesota146 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Aerie Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 37 ft max depth
- Limited data
Aerie Lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 9.5 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 37 ft. Surface area: 146.35 acres.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 11, 2005 caught 1.00 walleye per gill net at Aerie Lake. DNR survey details →
Aerie Lake is a 146-acre lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 37 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. No public access — the lake is private or restricted.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-09-24. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Aerie Lake covers about 150 acres in St. Louis County. The median ice-out date is April 23, which is when the open-water season begins. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Aerie Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Aerie Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Ice seasonIce-out around Apr 23
- Deep water37 ft surveyed max depth
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Aerie 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 Aerie Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Aerie Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Moderate clarity, visible to about 9.5 ft. TSI 45.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 9.5ft | 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. | 45 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Aerie Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Aerie Lake typically sits around 51°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 74°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 77°F) and coldest in Oct (about 51°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (51°F) to its warmest (77°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 23 field readings (2022–2025) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Aerie Lake water temperature breakdown →
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 11, 2005 caught 1.00 walleye per gill net at Aerie Lake.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Aerie Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 5 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
4 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2005-07-11 (Standard Survey).
4 surveys on file · most recent 2005-07-11 (Standard Survey)
21 years old| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | 12.07 | 3–8 in 2005-07-11 | 0.15 lb |
| Yellow Perch | 5.39 | 5–6 in 2005-07-11 | 0.11 lb |
| Northern Pike | 2.88 | 9–38 in 2005-07-11 | 2.16 lb |
| Brown Bullhead | 1.67 | 0.99 lb | |
| Black Crappie | 1.57 | 7–12 in 2005-07-11 | 0.4 lb |
| White Sucker | 1.47 | 16–18 in 1995-07-17 | 3.6 lb |
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.
Bluegill
Yellow Perch
Northern Pike
Black Crappie
From the 2005-07-11 survey
Aerie Lake is a 139 acre lake located near Alborn, Minnesota with 69% (96.6 acres) littoral area and a maximum depth of 37 feet. The public access on Aerie Lake is undeveloped and does not allow easy access to the lake. Largemouth bass and bluegill are the primary fish species. The Aerie Lake Property Owners…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Aerie Lake. 3 reports on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — AerieFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Aquatic Plant Report — Aerie (1872)Aquatic Plant Report · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Fish Stocking History — AerieFish Stocking History · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
37 ft
Surface area
146 acres
Shoreline
3.4 mi
Littoral zone
66%
Share shallower than 15 ft
Public access
No
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Aerie Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Aerie Lake in St. Louis 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 Aerie Lake
Prices for Oct 9–11, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Follow Aerie Lake’s readings
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Fishing Aerie Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Worsening5 years
Ice season
Typical ice-out
Apr 23
Earliest Mar 14, 2024 · Latest May 5, 2022
Typical ice-in
Nov 20
Earliest Nov 9, 2017 · Latest Dec 14, 2015
Most recent ice-out
Apr 14
2025
18 observations · Minnesota PCA ice records
Nearby Lakes in St. Louis County
Frequently asked questions about Aerie Lake
Where is Aerie Lake?
- Aerie Lake is a lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Aerie Lake?
- Aerie Lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 9.5 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 37 ft. Surface area: 146.35 acres.
Is Aerie Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Aerie Lake?
- Aerie Lake typically sits around 51°F at the surface in October, from 23 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2022–2025). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Aerie Lake?
- Aerie Lake has a maximum depth of 37 feet. The lake covers 146.35 acres.
What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Aerie Lake?
- Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 11, 2005 caught 1.00 walleye per gill net at Aerie Lake. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Aerie Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 5 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
When does Aerie Lake thaw?
- Aerie Lake typically has ice-out around Apr 23. Ice typically forms around Nov 20. The open water season is approximately 211 days.
Can I fish at Aerie Lake?
- Public access to Aerie Lake is listed as no on the lake record, so confirm before you make the trip. 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 Aerie Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
32 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA32 samples · 2020–2025
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
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder
Ice data from Minnesota DNR Climate