Chester Lake

Chester Lake comes in at a B on the grading rubric — a respectable showing for a Minnesota lake of its size and depth.

A TSI near 41 places Chester Lake in the mesotrophic band — moderate productivity, with seasonal swings between clearer spring water and richer late-summer conditions. A maximum depth of 35 ft puts Chester Lake in the middle of Minnesota's depth distribution. At 52 acres, Chester Lake sits below the Minnesota median: a small water where shoreline activity has an outsized effect on water quality. Among the 128 graded lakes in Cook County, Chester Lake sits at rank 53, above the county median.

Chester Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2023, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The lake's fish records list 3 species — a varied community without one dominant gamefish. A documented public access point at Chester Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. Monitoring depth is thin here: the LakeGrade rubric is applied to a small number of sample years, and the grade will be revised as more data accumulates.