Alvin Lake

On the LakeGrade scale Alvin Lake grades a B, with clarity at 10.5 ft and phosphorus readings still being added placing it above the Minnesota median.

Mesotrophic conditions dominate at Alvin Lake: enough nutrients for a healthy fishery, not so much that algal blooms become a chronic problem. Alvin Lake is unusually deep for Minnesota at 163 ft, which buffers the lake against summer warming and helps the deep water stay oxygenated. At 2,605 acres, Alvin Lake is one of the larger lakes in Douglas County, with 12.8 miles of shoreline supporting multiple distinct use patterns. Alvin Lake sits at rank 34 of 51 in Douglas County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

Zebra mussel presence at Alvin Lake means the lake's clarity numbers carry an asterisk — filtered water is not the same as nutrient-poor water. The fishery includes walleye among the lake's 21 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. A documented public access point at Alvin Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. Ice-out has been recorded 16 times at Alvin Lake, with a median around Apr 21. 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.