Horseshoe Lake
Itasca County, Minnesota260 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Horseshoe Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 25 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Horseshoe Lake in Itasca County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 10.5 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 25 ft. Surface area: 260.22 acres.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on August 27, 2007 caught 2.40 walleye per gill net at Horseshoe Lake. DNR survey details →
Horseshoe Lake is a 260-acre lake in Itasca County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 25 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. The lake supports 13 documented fish species including black bullhead, black crappie, and bluegill. Public access is available.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2024-10-10. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Horseshoe Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water10.5 ft of visibility
- Fishing13 species recorded
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Horseshoe 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 Horseshoe Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Horseshoe 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 10.5 ft. TSI 43.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 10.5ft | 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. | 43 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Horseshoe Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Blue-Green Algae (Cyanobacteria)
There’s no recent EPA CyAN cyanobacteria estimate for Horseshoe Lake — clouds, ice, or an off-season gap in coverage. The most recent reading was high (510,505 cells/mL) on July 19, 2026.
Blue-green algae can appear and clear within days, so check your state’s current advisory before swimming. EPA CyAN ↗
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on August 27, 2007 caught 2.40 walleye per gill net at Horseshoe Lake.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Horseshoe 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
5 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2007-08-27 (Standard Survey).
5 surveys on file · most recent 2007-08-27 (Standard Survey)
19 years old| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Bullhead | 18.27 | 8–11 in 2007-08-27 | 0.3 lb |
| Yellow Perch | 10.58 | 5–9 in 1997-07-21 | 0.16 lb |
| Bluegill | 5.91 | 3–9 in 2007-08-27 | 0.23 lb |
| Northern Pike | 5.13 | 11–33 in 2007-08-27 | 1.76 lb |
| Pumpkinseed | 3.31 | 4–7 in 2007-08-27 | 0.17 lb |
| White Sucker | 3.07 | 12–19 in 2007-08-27 | 2.65 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.
Black Bullhead
Yellow Perch
Bluegill
Northern Pike
From the 2007-08-27 survey
Horseshoe Lake is a 270-acre lake in Itasca County near Marcell. Horseshoe Lake is a relatively small, shallow, hardwater lake that has occasionally experienced winterkill. The lake has historically been managed for walleye and centrachids. A population assessment was conducted on Horseshoe Lake in 2007 to determine…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Horseshoe Lake. 2 reports on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — HorseshoeFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Aquatic Plant Report — Horseshoe (0817)Aquatic Plant Report · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
25 ft
Surface area
260 acres
Shoreline
3.2 mi
Littoral zone
93%
Share shallower than 15 ft
Public access
Yes
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
2 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,358 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS).
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Stays near Horseshoe Lake
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Top-rated places to stay near Horseshoe Lake
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Horseshoe Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Improving5 years
Nearby Lakes in Itasca County
Frequently asked questions about Horseshoe Lake
Where is Horseshoe Lake?
- Horseshoe Lake is a lake in Itasca County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Horseshoe Lake?
- Horseshoe Lake in Itasca County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 10.5 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 25 ft. Surface area: 260.22 acres.
Is Horseshoe Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Horseshoe Lake?
- Horseshoe Lake has a maximum depth of 25 feet. The lake covers 260.22 acres.
What fish are in Horseshoe Lake?
- Fish species found in Horseshoe Lake include black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead. Horseshoe Lake is located in Itasca County, Minnesota.
What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Horseshoe Lake?
- Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on August 27, 2007 caught 2.40 walleye per gill net at Horseshoe Lake. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Horseshoe 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.
Does Horseshoe Lake have blue-green algae?
- There is no recent EPA CyAN cyanobacteria estimate for Horseshoe Lake (clouds, ice, or an off-season gap). The most recent reading was high (510,505 cells/mL). Blue-green algae can appear and clear within days, so check Minnesota's current advisory before swimming.
Can I fish at Horseshoe Lake?
- Public access to Horseshoe Lake is listed as yes on the lake record. 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.
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Where this data comes from
43 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA43 samples · 2020–2024
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder