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Island Lake Reservoir

St. Louis County, MinnesotaView mapDirections

No nutrient or algae sampling on record from Minnesota PCA for this lake.

Max depth
~103 ft est.
GLOBathy model
  • Impaired · Mercury
  • spiny waterflea
  • 103 ft max depth
  • Public access
  • Limited data

Island Lake Reservoir in St. Louis County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported.

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Island Lake Reservoir is a lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 103 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 3 public boat landings.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-05-29. Methodology: how these readings are compared.

What Island Lake Reservoir is good for

From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.

  • Boat launch3 documented ramps

Swimming conditions

No reading

Limited data

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Island Lake Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.

Whether Island Lake Reservoir 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 Island Lake Reservoir

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

No clarity data.

Ask about Island Lake Reservoir

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

Lake Details

Max depth

~103 ft est.

Public access

Yes

Listed by Minnesota PCA

Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Minnesota has not published bathymetry for Island Lake Reservoir.

Lake Size & Watershed

Watershed (drainage) area

528 sq mi

HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS

Surface area

7,823 acres

HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS

Shoreline

61.7 mi

HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS

Elevation

1,352 ft

Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.

Recreation & Access

3
Boat Landings
Yes
Public Access
  • Island Lake, Abbot Road (East)Public
  • Island Lake (North)Public
  • Dam SitePublic

Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps

Stays via Stay22

Stays near Island Lake Reservoir

Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Island Lake Reservoir in St. Louis 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 Island Lake Reservoir

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Fishing Island Lake Reservoir

Invasive & Introduced Species

Red chips are ecologically harmful invasive species. Gray chips are stocked or introduced fish that aren't a current ecological concern.

spiny waterflea

EPA Impairment Status

Island Lake Reservoir is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).

Causes of impairment

Mercury

Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.

Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MN69-0372-01 · Official waterbody report

Nearby Lakes in St. Louis County

Frequently asked questions about Island Lake Reservoir

Where is Island Lake Reservoir?

Island Lake Reservoir is a lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.

What is the water quality of Island Lake Reservoir?

Island Lake Reservoir in St. Louis County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported.

Measurements on this page ↑

Is Island Lake Reservoir safe to swim in?

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Island Lake Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.

Swimming on this page ↑

How deep is Island Lake Reservoir?

No published bathymetric survey covers Island Lake Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 103 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.

Are there boat ramps on Island Lake Reservoir?

Island Lake Reservoir has 3 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Island Lake, Abbot Road (East), Island Lake (North), Dam Site. Public access is listed as yes.

Access on this page ↑

Can I fish at Island Lake Reservoir?

Island Lake Reservoir has 3 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. 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.

Access on this page ↑

Where this data comes from

2 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.

Collected and reported by

  • Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface WaterMNPCA2 samples · 2025

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

Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database

Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)

Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder

Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory