Cole Lake

Cole Lake carries a solid B grade — strong on most parameters, with measurements that hold up well across the summer season.

A TSI near 44 places Cole Lake in the mesotrophic band — moderate productivity, with seasonal swings between clearer spring water and richer late-summer conditions. A maximum depth of 24 ft puts Cole Lake in the middle of Minnesota's depth distribution. Cole Lake covers 142 acres alongside 2.4 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Among the 33 graded lakes in Carlton County, Cole Lake ranks 6 — in the top quartile locally.

No invasive species are currently listed at Cole Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. The fishery includes walleye among the lake's 11 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. A documented public access point at Cole Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. Ice-out has been logged at Cole Lake more than two dozen times, putting the median around Apr 18 — a useful baseline for tracking climate trends. 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.