Cedar Lake

Cedar Lake earns a C — middle-of-the-pack water quality, with one or two parameters dragging the average down from a stronger grade. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

Mesotrophic conditions dominate at Cedar Lake: enough nutrients for a healthy fishery, not so much that algal blooms become a chronic problem. A maximum depth of 18 ft puts Cedar Lake in the middle of Minnesota's depth distribution. At 249 acres, Cedar Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 3.7 miles of shoreline. Within Aitkin County's 53 graded lakes, Cedar Lake ranks 27 — below the local median, though not at the bottom.

Cedar Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2023, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 9 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. 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.