Ester Lake
Lake County, Minnesota374 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Ester Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 110 ft max depth
- Limited data
Ester Lake in Lake County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 18.8 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 110 ft. Surface area: 373.68 acres.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on September 17, 2018 caught 0.50 northern pike per gill net at Ester Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 32–32 inches. DNR survey details →
Ester Lake is a 374-acre lake in Lake County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 110 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. The lake supports 8 documented fish species including burbot, cisco species, and lake trout. No public access — the lake is private or restricted.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-07-17. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Ester Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water18.8 ft of visibility
- Fishing8 species recorded
- Deep water110 ft surveyed max depth
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Ester Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Ester 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 Ester Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Ester 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 18.8 ft down. TSI 35.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 18.8ft | 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 Ester Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on September 17, 2018 caught 0.50 northern pike per gill net at Ester Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 32–32 inches.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Ester Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 5 years of monitoring is improving. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
4 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2025-08-01 (Targeted Survey).
4 surveys on file · most recent 2025-08-01 (Targeted Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Trout | 3.73 | 8–27 in 2018-09-17 | 4.3 lb |
| Yellow Perch | 0.50 | 7 in 2018-09-17 | 0.15 lb |
| Northern Pike | 0.50 | 32 in 2018-09-17 | 7.23 lb |
CPUE = catch per unit effort, fish caught per net per set in a standardised survey. It measures abundance, not size, and is not a weekly bite report.
Length Distributions
Number of fish caught at each inch class in the most recent survey that recorded lengths. Red dashed line marks an approximate trophy threshold for that species.
Lake Trout
Yellow Perch
Northern Pike
From the 2025-08-01 survey
Temperature and dissolved oxygen measurements were collected from the deepest basin in Ester Lake on August 1st, 2025. This was done to evaluate the quantity and quality of cold, oxygenated water (i.e., oxythermal habitat) available to Lake Trout, the most sensitive coldwater species present in this lake (Lake…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Ester Lake. 1 report on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — EsterFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
110 ft
Surface area
374 acres
Shoreline
8.3 mi
Littoral zone
41%
Share shallower than 15 ft
Public access
No
Listed by Minnesota PCA
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Stays near Ester Lake
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Ester Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Improving5 years
EPA Impairment Status
Ester Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MN38-0207-00 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Lake County
Frequently asked questions about Ester Lake
Where is Ester Lake?
- Ester Lake is a lake in Lake County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Ester Lake?
- Ester Lake in Lake County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 18.8 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 110 ft. Surface area: 373.68 acres.
Is Ester Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Ester Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Ester Lake?
- Ester Lake has a maximum depth of 110 feet. The lake covers 373.68 acres.
What fish are in Ester Lake?
- Fish species found in Ester Lake include burbot, cisco species, lake trout, lake whitefish, northern pike, smallmouth bass, white sucker, yellow perch. Ester Lake is located in Lake County, Minnesota.
What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Ester Lake?
- Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on September 17, 2018 caught 0.50 northern pike per gill net at Ester Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 32–32 inches. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Ester Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 5 years of monitoring is improving. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
Can I fish at Ester Lake?
- Public access to Ester 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.
Explore Ester Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
16 measurements from 10 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA16 samples · 2020–2025
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
Monitoring station identifiers (10)
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
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder