Carnelian Lake

Carnelian Lake comes in at a B on the grading rubric — a respectable showing for a Minnesota lake of its size and depth. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Minnesota lakes fall. Carnelian Lake reaches 36 ft at its deepest point — typical for Minnesota mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. At 180 acres, Carnelian Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 3.0 miles of shoreline. Carnelian Lake ranks 14 of 55 in Stearns County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

Starry stonewort has been recorded at Carnelian Lake — a relatively new invasive in Minnesota that forms dense, hard-to-remove mats. Walleye are documented at Carnelian Lake, one of 13 fish species on record for the lake. A documented public access point at Carnelian 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.