Goose Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric Goose Lake fails the cutoffs — a TSI of 80 and persistent algal pressure put it in the bottom tier. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

Hypereutrophic conditions mean the lake is operating at the upper end of the productivity scale, with all the bloom risk that implies. Goose Lake is a shallow lake at 6 ft maximum depth, which means it warms quickly, mixes constantly, and amplifies nutrient inputs. Goose Lake covers 115 acres alongside 2.0 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Goose Lake ranks 44 of 49 in Ramsey County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

Goose Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2024, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The state fisheries records do not list documented species for Goose Lake, which usually reflects a lack of formal fisheries survey work rather than an empty lake. The lake lacks a documented public access point, so visitor use is limited. Ice-out has been recorded 7 times at Goose Lake, with a median around Mar 22. 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.