Dunnigan Lake

On the LakeGrade scale Dunnigan Lake grades a B, with clarity at 10.1 ft and phosphorus readings still being added placing it above the Minnesota median.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Minnesota lakes fall. A maximum depth of just 14 ft means sediment-bound phosphorus releases back into the water column whenever wind stirs the bottom — a classic shallow-lake dynamic. The lake is compact at 81 acres, with 2.3 miles of shoreline and little volume to buffer nutrient inputs. Among the 142 graded lakes in Lake County, Dunnigan Lake sits at rank 68, above the county median.

Dunnigan Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2023, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The fishery includes walleye among the lake's 5 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. 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.