Crescent Lake
Cook County, Minnesota755 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Crescent Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 28 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Crescent Lake in Cook County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 28 ft. Surface area: 755.48 acres.
Crescent Lake is a 755-acre lake in Cook County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 28 feet. The lake supports 10 documented fish species including hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, and muskellunge. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-08-11. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Crescent Lake covers about 760 acres in Cook County. It has one public boat landing. The median ice-out date is May 12, which is when the open-water season begins. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Crescent Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Crescent Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Fishing10 species recorded
- Camping1 public campground nearby
- Ice seasonIce-out around May 12
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Crescent Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Crescent 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 Crescent Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Crescent Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Moderate clarity, visible to about 8 ft. TSI 47.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 8ft | 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. | 47 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Crescent Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
28 ft
Surface area
755 acres
Shoreline
14 mi
Littoral zone
74%
Share shallower than 15 ft
Public access
Yes
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
14 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,775 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS).
Recreation & Access
- Crescent LakePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Public campgrounds near Crescent Lake
- Crescent Lake Campground0.5 km
Nearest public campgrounds in the USGS National Map inventory, within about 3 miles. An empty list means USGS records no campground that close, which is not the same as camping being unavailable. Where the source gives an official reservation link, it is used; the cabin and hotel search does not cover campsites. More camping lakes
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Crescent Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Crescent Lake in Cook County, Minnesota — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water.
Top-rated places to stay near Crescent Lake
Prices for Oct 9–11, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Crescent Lake
Ice season
Typical ice-out
May 12
Earliest May 4, 2026 · Latest May 12, 2023
Most recent ice-out
May 4
2026
3 observations · Minnesota PCA ice records
EPA Impairment Status
Crescent Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MN16-0454-00 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Cook County
Frequently asked questions about Crescent Lake
Where is Crescent Lake?
- Crescent Lake is a lake in Cook County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Crescent Lake?
- Crescent Lake in Cook County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 28 ft. Surface area: 755.48 acres.
Is Crescent Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Crescent Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Crescent Lake?
- Crescent Lake has a maximum depth of 28 feet. The lake covers 755.48 acres.
What fish are in Crescent Lake?
- Fish species found in Crescent Lake include hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, muskellunge, northern pike, pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, tiger muskellunge, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch. Crescent Lake is located in Cook County, Minnesota.
When does Crescent Lake thaw?
- Crescent Lake typically has ice-out around May 12.
Are there boat ramps on Crescent Lake?
- Crescent Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Crescent Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Crescent Lake?
- Crescent Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. 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.
Are there campgrounds on Crescent Lake?
- Crescent Lake has 1 public campground from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Crescent Lake Campground. This is a location join, not a booking. Cabins and hotels are listed separately; campsite reservations use the official link when the source provides one.
Explore Crescent Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
1 measurement from 1 monitoring station, 2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA1 sample · 2025
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
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles
Ice data from Minnesota DNR Climate