Crooked Lake

The LakeGrade rubric puts Crooked Lake at a C: clarity at 9.0 ft, phosphorus readings still being added, and a TSI of 45 signal an intermediate trophic state.

A TSI near 45 places Crooked Lake in the mesotrophic band — moderate productivity, with seasonal swings between clearer spring water and richer late-summer conditions. Crooked Lake is unusually deep for Minnesota at 165 ft, which buffers the lake against summer warming and helps the deep water stay oxygenated. At 10,360 acres, Crooked Lake is one of the larger lakes in Lake County, with 231.7 miles of shoreline supporting multiple distinct use patterns. Crooked Lake sits at rank 92 of 142 in Lake County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

Crooked Lake has at least one documented invasive species (spiny waterflea), so boaters and anglers should observe clean-drain-dry steps when leaving the lake. The state fisheries records do not list documented species for Crooked Lake, which usually reflects a lack of formal fisheries survey work rather than an empty lake. No formal public access is documented at Crooked Lake — most use is by shoreline residents and their guests. 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.