Elbow Lake

On the LakeGrade scale Elbow Lake grades a B, with clarity at 3.7 ft and 19 µg/L of phosphorus placing it above the Minnesota median. Clarity is the limiting factor — phosphorus is reasonable but suspended particles or algal cells keep water transparency below Minnesota norms.

At a TSI of 52, Elbow Lake reads as eutrophic — nutrient-rich enough that summer algal growth and reduced clarity are expected, not unusual. At only 9 ft deep, Elbow Lake is shallow — wind keeps the water column mixed and sediment resuspension drives phosphorus levels harder to manage. At 408 acres, Elbow Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 6.8 miles of shoreline. Elbow Lake sits at rank 69 of 128 in Cook County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

Elbow Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2024, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 7 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.