Erie Lake

Erie Lake carries a solid B grade — strong on most parameters, with measurements that hold up well across the summer season. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

At a TSI of 51, Erie Lake reads as eutrophic — nutrient-rich enough that summer algal growth and reduced clarity are expected, not unusual. Erie Lake reaches 34 ft at its deepest point — typical for Minnesota mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. Erie Lake covers 190 acres alongside 3.1 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Within Meeker County's 23 graded waters, Erie Lake sits at rank 3, near the top of the local distribution.

Eurasian watermilfoil has been documented at Erie Lake, requiring shoreline management to keep dense mats from crowding native vegetation. Walleye are documented at Erie Lake, one of 12 fish species on record for the lake. A documented public access point at Erie Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. 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.