Elbow Lake

Elbow Lake sits at a C on the grading scale — not impaired, not pristine, with summer measurements that vary year to year. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

A TSI in the eutrophic range signals a lake doing what nutrient-loaded waters do — supporting an active algal community at the cost of clear water. The lake bottoms out at 22 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. At 169 acres, Elbow Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 3.8 miles of shoreline. Within St. Louis County's 187 graded lakes, Elbow Lake ranks 137 — below the local median, though not at the bottom.

No invasive species are currently listed at Elbow Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. Walleye are documented at Elbow Lake, one of 8 fish species on record for the lake. The lake lacks a documented public access point, so visitor use is limited. 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.