Dunning Lake
Itasca County, MinnesotaView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Dunning Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 49 ft max depth
- Limited data
Dunning Lake in Itasca County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 18.5 ft visibility.
Dunning Lake is a lake in Itasca County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 49 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. 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 2024-08-20. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Dunning Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water18.5 ft of visibility
- Ice seasonIce-out around Apr 18
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Dunning 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 Dunning Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Dunning 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 18.5 ft down. TSI 35.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 18.5ft | 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 Dunning Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Dunning Lake typically sits around 63°F at the surface in September. Summer average is about 72°F. Usually warmest in Aug (about 77°F) and coldest in Sep (about 63°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (63°F) to its warmest (77°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 9 field readings (2023–2023) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Dunning Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~49 ft est.
Public access
No
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Minnesota has not published bathymetry for Dunning Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
67 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,368 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Dunning Lake
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Top-rated places to stay near Dunning Lake
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Fishing Dunning Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 4 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Improving4 years
Ice season
Typical ice-out
Apr 18
Earliest Mar 29, 2000 · Latest May 1, 2008
Typical ice-in
Nov 19
Earliest Nov 6, 2018 · Latest Dec 8, 1999
Most recent ice-out
Apr 23
2020
34 observations · Minnesota PCA ice records
Nearby Lakes in Itasca County
Frequently asked questions about Dunning Lake
Where is Dunning Lake?
- Dunning Lake is a lake in Itasca County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Dunning Lake?
- Dunning Lake in Itasca County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 18.5 ft visibility.
Is Dunning Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Dunning Lake?
- Dunning Lake typically sits around 63°F at the surface in September, from 9 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2023–2023). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Dunning Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Dunning Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 49 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
When does Dunning Lake thaw?
- Dunning Lake typically has ice-out around Apr 18. Ice typically forms around Nov 19. The open water season is approximately 215 days.
Can I fish at Dunning Lake?
- Public access to Dunning 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
38 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA38 samples · 2020–2024
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
Ice data from Minnesota DNR Climate