Clear Lake

Clear Lake sits at the top of the Minnesota PCA grading rubric with an A, a mark reached by the cleanest lakes in Minnesota. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

A TSI value of 34 puts Clear Lake in the oligotrophic range, where biological productivity stays low and the water column remains clear. At 63 ft of maximum depth, Clear Lake stratifies reliably through the summer — the hypolimnion stays cooler and clearer than the surface layer suggests. At 226 acres, Clear Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 3.5 miles of shoreline. Among the 120 graded lakes in Crow Wing County, Clear Lake ranks 6 — in the top quartile locally.

Zebra mussel presence at Clear Lake means the lake's clarity numbers carry an asterisk — filtered water is not the same as nutrient-poor water. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 15 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.