Cedar Lake

On the scoring rubric Cedar Lake grades a D: clarity at 2.0 ft and 83 µg/L of phosphorus keep it in the lower bracket for Rice County. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

At a TSI of 67, Cedar Lake reads as eutrophic — nutrient-rich enough that summer algal growth and reduced clarity are expected, not unusual. A maximum depth of 42 ft puts Cedar Lake in the middle of Minnesota's depth distribution. Cedar Lake covers 902 acres alongside 11.3 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Cedar Lake ranks 5 of 12 in Rice County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

Eurasian watermilfoil has been documented at Cedar Lake, requiring shoreline management to keep dense mats from crowding native vegetation. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 18 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. Ice-out has been logged at Cedar Lake more than two dozen times, putting the median around Apr 4 — a useful baseline for tracking climate trends. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.