Burns Lake

Burns Lake sits at the top of the Minnesota PCA grading rubric with an A, a mark reached by the cleanest lakes in Minnesota. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

A TSI value of 36 puts Burns Lake in the oligotrophic range, where biological productivity stays low and the water column remains clear. At 100 ft of maximum depth, Burns Lake stratifies reliably through the summer — the hypolimnion stays cooler and clearer than the surface layer suggests. Burns Lake covers 181 acres alongside 4.3 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Within Itasca County's 141 graded waters, Burns Lake sits at rank 32, near the top of the local distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Burns Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 10, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. A documented public access point at Burns Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.