Camp Lake

Camp Lake comes in at a B on the grading rubric — a respectable showing for a Minnesota lake of its size and depth. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

Mesotrophic conditions dominate at Camp Lake: enough nutrients for a healthy fishery, not so much that algal blooms become a chronic problem. A maximum depth of 34 ft puts Camp Lake in the middle of Minnesota's depth distribution. The lake is compact at 82 acres, with 2.0 miles of shoreline and little volume to buffer nutrient inputs. Camp Lake ranks 10 of 24 in Sherburne County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

Camp Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2024, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 6, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. A documented public access point at Camp Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. Ice-out has been recorded 11 times at Camp Lake, with a median around Apr 9. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.