Kemo Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Kemo Lake pulls an A: clarity at 17.0 ft and phosphorus readings still being added put it in the top bracket for Minnesota.

The lake's low TSI puts it in oligotrophic territory — the cleanest of the four trophic classes, but also the most vulnerable to nutrient-driven shifts. Kemo Lake is unusually deep for Minnesota at 65 ft, which buffers the lake against summer warming and helps the deep water stay oxygenated. The lake's 189 acres and 3.1 miles of shoreline put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Kemo Lake ranks 15 of 128 in Cook County, putting it in the upper tier of locally monitored lakes.

No invasive species are currently listed at Kemo Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. 3 fish species are documented at Kemo Lake, a mixed warm-water community typical for Minnesota lakes of this size. The lake lacks a documented public access point, so visitor use is limited. 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.