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Fraser Lake

Lake County, Minnesota695 acresView mapDirections

Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Fraser Lake. Here is what has been measured.

Clarity
12.5 ft
Clearer than most
Secchi · sampled 2025
Max depth
105 ft
Bathymetric survey
Area
695 acres
Surface area
Trend
Worsening
5 years of samples
Shoreline
14.6 mi
Measured length
  • Impaired · Mercury
  • 105 ft max depth
  • Limited data

Fraser Lake in Lake County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 12.5 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 105 ft. Surface area: 695.05 acres.

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on September 16, 1986 caught 1.00 lake trout per gill net at Fraser Lake. DNR survey details →

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Fraser Lake is a 695-acre lake in Lake County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 105 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. No public access — the lake is private or restricted.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-07-09. Methodology: how these readings are compared.

What Fraser Lake is good for

From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.

  • Clear water12.5 ft of visibility
  • Deep water105 ft surveyed max depth

Swimming conditions

No reading

Limited data

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Fraser Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.

Whether Fraser 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.

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Water quality measurements for Fraser Lake

These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Fraser Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.

Good clarity, visible to about 12.5 ft. TSI 41.

Water quality readings
MeasureReadingWhere it sits
Water clarity (Secchi depth)12.5ftMeasured, not scored

How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer.

Total phosphorusNo 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.41Mesotrophic
OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic

Moderate nutrients, good water quality

Ask about Fraser Lake

Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.

Blue-Green Algae (Cyanobacteria)

No current satellite reading

There’s no recent EPA CyAN cyanobacteria estimate for Fraser Lake — clouds, ice, or an off-season gap in coverage. The most recent reading was high (151,356 cells/mL) on May 30, 2026.

Blue-green algae can appear and clear within days, so check your state’s current advisory before swimming. EPA CyAN ↗

DNR fisheries survey

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on September 16, 1986 caught 1.00 lake trout per gill net at Fraser Lake.

A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Fraser Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 5 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.

DNR Fisheries Survey Summary

3 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2025-08-03 (Targeted Survey).

3 surveys on file · most recent 2025-08-03 (Targeted Survey)

SpeciesCatch rate (CPUE)SizeAvg weight
Tullibee (Cisco)
15.22
0.11 lb
Lake Trout
1.44
2.01 lb
White Sucker
0.95
1.18 lb
Northern Pike
0.25
3.5 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.

From the 2025-08-03 survey

Temperature and dissolved oxygen measurements were collected from the deepest basin in Fraser Lake on August 3rd, 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 (Cisco, also…

Source: MN DNR LakeFinder Fisheries Lake Survey

DNR Reports & Resources

Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Fraser Lake. 1 report on file.

These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).

Lake Details

Max depth

105 ft

Surface area

695 acres

Shoreline

14.6 mi

Littoral zone

23%

Share shallower than 15 ft

Public access

No

Listed by Minnesota PCA

Lake Size & Watershed

Watershed (drainage) area

14 sq mi

HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS

Elevation

1,526 ft

Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS).

Stays via Stay22

Stays near Fraser Lake

Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Fraser Lake in Lake County, Minnesota — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water.

Top-rated places to stay near Fraser Lake

Prices for Oct 9–11, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.

Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.

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Fishing Fraser Lake

Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2025).

  • Water clarity

    Worsening

    5 years

See year-by-year chart →

EPA Impairment Status

Fraser Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).

Causes of impairment

Mercury

Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.

A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.

Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MN38-0372-00 · Official waterbody report

Nearby Lakes in Lake County

Frequently asked questions about Fraser Lake

Where is Fraser Lake?

Fraser 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 Fraser Lake?

Fraser Lake in Lake County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 12.5 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 105 ft. Surface area: 695.05 acres.

Measurements on this page ↑

Is Fraser Lake safe to swim in?

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Fraser Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.

Swimming on this page ↑

How deep is Fraser Lake?

Fraser Lake has a maximum depth of 105 feet. The lake covers 695.05 acres.

What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Fraser Lake?

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on September 16, 1986 caught 1.00 lake trout per gill net at Fraser Lake. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Fraser Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 5 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.

DNR on this page ↑

Does Fraser Lake have blue-green algae?

There is no recent EPA CyAN cyanobacteria estimate for Fraser Lake (clouds, ice, or an off-season gap). The most recent reading was high (151,356 cells/mL). Blue-green algae can appear and clear within days, so check Minnesota's current advisory before swimming.

Algae on this page ↑

Can I fish at Fraser Lake?

Public access to Fraser 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.

Where this data comes from

23 measurements from 11 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 WaterMNPCA23 samples · 2020–2025

Analytical methods

  • Field measurement/observation, generic method
Monitoring station identifiers (11)

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 size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)

Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder