Erskine Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Erskine Lake pulls an A: clarity at 18.0 ft and 11 µg/L of phosphorus put it in the top bracket for Minnesota. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

A TSI value of 37 puts Erskine Lake in the oligotrophic range, where biological productivity stays low and the water column remains clear. Erskine Lake is unusually deep for Minnesota at 56 ft, which buffers the lake against summer warming and helps the deep water stay oxygenated. Erskine Lake is small — 40 acres alongside 1.4 miles of shoreline — which makes it sensitive to even modest changes in watershed runoff or recreational pressure. Erskine Lake ranks 40 of 146 in Itasca County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

Erskine Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2025, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. 3 fish species are documented at Erskine Lake, a mixed warm-water community typical for Minnesota lakes of this size. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.