Clearwater Lake
Lake County, Minnesota640 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Clearwater Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 46 ft max depth
- Limited data
Clearwater Lake in Lake County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 18 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 46 ft. Surface area: 640.18 acres.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 21, 1977 caught 3.88 northern pike per gill net at Clearwater Lake. DNR survey details →
Clearwater Lake is a 640-acre lake in Lake County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 46 feet. Limited fish-species data available. No public access — the lake is private or restricted.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2021-06-16. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Clearwater Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water18 ft of visibility
- Deep water46 ft surveyed max depth
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Clearwater Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota DNR and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Clearwater Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Clearwater Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Crystal clear, you can see 18 ft down. TSI 35.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 18ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 35 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Clearwater Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Blue-Green Algae (Cyanobacteria)
There’s no recent EPA CyAN cyanobacteria estimate for Clearwater Lake — clouds, ice, or an off-season gap in coverage. The most recent reading was high (111,686 cells/mL) on April 25, 2026.
Blue-green algae can appear and clear within days, so check your state’s current advisory before swimming. EPA CyAN ↗
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 21, 1977 caught 3.88 northern pike per gill net at Clearwater Lake.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Clearwater Lake’s water-quality measurements separately. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
3 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2025-07-29 (Targeted Survey).
3 surveys on file · most recent 2025-07-29 (Targeted Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Sucker | 4.25 | 1.35 lb | |
| Northern Pike | 3.88 | 3.5 lb | |
| Yellow Perch | 0.50 | 0.11 lb |
CPUE = catch per unit effort, fish caught per net per set in a standardised survey. It measures abundance, not size, and is not a weekly bite report.
From the 2025-07-29 survey
Temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) measurements were collected from the deepest basin in Clearwater Lake on July 29th, 2025, to evaluate the quantity and quality of cold, oxygenated water (i.e., oxythermal habitat) available to Lake Whitefish, the most sensitive coldwater species present in this lake. During the…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Clearwater Lake. 1 report on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — ClearwaterFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
46 ft
Surface area
640 acres
Shoreline
7.6 mi
Littoral zone
27%
Share shallower than 15 ft
Public access
No
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
3 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,493 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS).
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Clearwater Lake
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Fishing Clearwater Lake
Nearby Lakes in Lake County
Frequently asked questions about Clearwater Lake
Where is Clearwater Lake?
- Clearwater Lake is a lake in Lake County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Clearwater Lake?
- Clearwater Lake in Lake County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 18 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 46 ft. Surface area: 640.18 acres.
Is Clearwater Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Clearwater Lake?
- Clearwater Lake has a maximum depth of 46 feet. The lake covers 640.18 acres.
What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Clearwater Lake?
- Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 21, 1977 caught 3.88 northern pike per gill net at Clearwater Lake. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Clearwater Lake’s water-quality measurements separately. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
Does Clearwater Lake have blue-green algae?
- There is no recent EPA CyAN cyanobacteria estimate for Clearwater Lake (clouds, ice, or an off-season gap). The most recent reading was high (111,686 cells/mL). Blue-green algae can appear and clear within days, so check Minnesota's current advisory before swimming.
Can I fish at Clearwater Lake?
- Public access to Clearwater Lake is listed as no on the lake record, so confirm before you make the trip. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Minnesota's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
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Where this data comes from
1 measurement from 1 monitoring station, 2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA1 sample · 2021
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder