Clearwater Lake

Clearwater Lake sits at a C on the grading scale — not impaired, not pristine, with summer measurements that vary year to year.

A TSI near 45 places Clearwater Lake in the mesotrophic band — moderate productivity, with seasonal swings between clearer spring water and richer late-summer conditions. Clearwater Lake reaches 16 ft at its deepest point — typical for Minnesota mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. Clearwater Lake covers 132 acres alongside 1.9 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Clearwater Lake sits at rank 101 of 141 in Itasca County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Clearwater Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. The state fisheries records do not list documented species for Clearwater Lake, which usually reflects a lack of formal fisheries survey work rather than an empty lake. No formal public access is documented at Clearwater Lake — most use is by shoreline residents and their guests. The lake has a long ice-out record — 57 observations on file, with a median ice-out around Apr 17. 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.