Ima Lake

Ima Lake carries a solid B grade — strong on most parameters, with measurements that hold up well across the summer season.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Minnesota lakes fall. The lake's 116 ft maximum depth is in the upper tier for Minnesota — deep enough for cold-water fish to find refuge in summer. At 742 acres, Ima Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 14.9 miles of shoreline. Among the 142 graded lakes in Lake County, Ima Lake sits at rank 38, above the county median.

Ima Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2023, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The state fisheries records do not list documented species for Ima Lake, which usually reflects a lack of formal fisheries survey work rather than an empty lake. No formal public access is documented at Ima Lake — most use is by shoreline residents and their guests. 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.