Birch Lake
Minnesota836 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Birch Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 34 ft max depth
- Limited data
Birch Lake in Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 15 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 34 ft. Surface area: 836.35 acres.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on September 5, 2017 caught 16.50 walleye per gill net at Birch Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 8–26 inches. DNR survey details →
Birch Lake is a 836-acre lake in Unknown County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 34 feet. The lake supports 10 documented fish species including bluegill, cisco species, and largemouth bass. No public access — the lake is private or restricted.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-07-12. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Birch Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water15 ft of visibility
- Fishing10 species recorded
- Deep water34 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 Birch 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 Birch Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Birch Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Crystal clear, you can see 15 ft down. TSI 38.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 15ft | 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. | 38 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Birch Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on September 5, 2017 caught 16.50 walleye per gill net at Birch Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 8–26 inches.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Birch Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is stable. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
9 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2017-09-05 (Standard Survey).
9 surveys on file · most recent 2017-09-05 (Standard Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walleye | 7.49 | 8–26 in 2017-09-05 | 1.61 lb |
| Tullibee (Cisco) | 6.15 | 7–15 in 2010-09-13 | 0.64 lb |
| White Sucker | 4.19 | 7–22 in 2017-09-05 | 2.8 lb |
| Bluegill | 2.35 | 3–8 in 2017-09-05 | 0.19 lb |
| Northern Pike | 2.28 | 20–38 in 2017-09-05 | 3.61 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.
Walleye
Tullibee (Cisco)
White Sucker
Bluegill
From the 2017-09-05 survey
Birch Lake is located approximately 18 miles NE of Ely within the BWCAW. The northern half of the lake is part of Ontario's Quetico Provincial Park. Birch Lake is 836 acres with 397 of these acres in Minnesota. Visitors should be familiar with appropriate regulations when traveling these wilderness areas. Birch Lake…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Birch Lake. 1 report on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — BirchFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
34 ft
Surface area
836 acres
Shoreline
27.8 mi
Littoral zone
41%
Share shallower than 15 ft
Public access
No
Listed by Minnesota PCA
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Stays near Birch Lake
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Birch Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Stable6 years
Nearby Lakes in Minnesota
Frequently asked questions about Birch Lake
Where is Birch Lake?
- Birch Lake is a lake in Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Birch Lake?
- Birch Lake in Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 15 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 34 ft. Surface area: 836.35 acres.
Is Birch Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Birch Lake?
- Birch Lake has a maximum depth of 34 feet. The lake covers 836.35 acres.
What fish are in Birch Lake?
- Fish species found in Birch Lake include bluegill, cisco species, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch. Birch Lake is located in Minnesota.
What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Birch Lake?
- Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on September 5, 2017 caught 16.50 walleye per gill net at Birch Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 8–26 inches. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Birch Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is stable. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
Can I fish at Birch Lake?
- Public access to Birch 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 Birch Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
68 measurements from 18 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA68 samples · 2020–2025
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
Monitoring station identifiers (18)
- MNPCA-38-0532-00-100
- MNPCA-38-0532-00-220
- MNPCA-38-0532-00-221
- MNPCA-38-0532-00-219
- MNPCA-38-0532-00-210
- MNPCA-38-0532-00-205
- MNPCA-38-0532-00-215
- MNPCA-38-0532-00-208
- MNPCA-38-0532-00-201
- MNPCA-38-0532-00-207
- MNPCA-38-0532-00-222
- MNPCA-38-0532-00-216
- MNPCA-38-0532-00-206
- MNPCA-38-0532-00-204
- MNPCA-38-0532-00-211
- MNPCA-38-0532-00-213
- MNPCA-38-0532-00-203
- MNPCA-38-0532-00-217
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