Brickyard Lake

Brickyard Lake earns an A — water clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate among the best monitored waters in Carver County. 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.

Mesotrophic conditions dominate at Brickyard Lake: enough nutrients for a healthy fishery, not so much that algal blooms become a chronic problem. The lake bottoms out at 43 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. Brickyard Lake is small — 14 acres alongside 0.6 miles of shoreline — which makes it sensitive to even modest changes in watershed runoff or recreational pressure. Among the 40 graded lakes in Carver County, Brickyard Lake ranks 1 — in the top quartile locally.

Brickyard Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2024, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The state fisheries records do not list documented species for Brickyard Lake, which usually reflects a lack of formal fisheries survey work rather than an empty lake. The lake lacks a documented public access point, so visitor use is limited. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.