Kemo Lake
Cook County, Minnesota189 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Kemo Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 65 ft max depth
- Limited data
Kemo Lake in Cook County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 17 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 65 ft. Surface area: 189.08 acres.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 31, 2023 caught 4.50 lake trout per gill net at Kemo Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 7–21 inches. DNR survey details →
Kemo Lake is a 189-acre lake in Cook County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 65 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. The lake supports 3 documented fish species including lake trout, splake, and white sucker. No public access — the lake is private or restricted.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-08-10. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Kemo Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water17 ft of visibility
- Fishing3 species recorded
- Deep water65 ft surveyed max depth
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Kemo Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Kemo 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 Kemo Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Kemo Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Crystal clear, you can see 17 ft down. TSI 36.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 17ft | 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. | 36 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Kemo Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Kemo Lake typically sits around 68°F at the surface in September. Summer average is about 57°F. Usually warmest in Sep (about 68°F) and coldest in Aug (about 56°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (56°F) to its warmest (68°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 109 field readings (2022–2025) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Kemo Lake water temperature breakdown →
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 31, 2023 caught 4.50 lake trout per gill net at Kemo Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 7–21 inches.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Kemo Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
12 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2025-08-21 (Targeted Survey).
12 surveys on file · most recent 2025-08-21 (Targeted Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fathead Minnow | 9.92 | ||
| White Sucker | 7.13 | 7–19 in 2023-07-31 | 0.87 lb |
| Lake Trout | 5.13 | 7–21 in 2023-07-31 | 1.43 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.
White Sucker
Lake Trout
From the 2025-08-21 survey
Temperature and dissolved oxygen measurements were collected from the deepest basin in Kemo Lake on August 21st, 2025. This was done to evaluate the quantity and quality of cold, oxygenated water (i.e., oxythermal habitat) available to Lake Trout, the most sensitive coldwater species present in this lake. Lake Trout…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Kemo Lake. 3 reports on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — KemoFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Aquatic Plant Report — Kemo (1665)Aquatic Plant Report · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Fish Stocking History — KemoFish Stocking History · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
65 ft
Surface area
189 acres
Shoreline
3.1 mi
Littoral zone
9%
Share shallower than 15 ft
Public access
No
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,870 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS).
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Kemo Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Kemo Lake in Cook 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 Kemo Lake
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Kemo Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Worsening6 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+0.75 µg/L/yr3 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.85 µg/L/yr3 years
EPA Impairment Status
Kemo Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MN16-0188-00 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Cook County
Frequently asked questions about Kemo Lake
Where is Kemo Lake?
- Kemo Lake is a lake in Cook County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Kemo Lake?
- Kemo Lake in Cook County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 17 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 65 ft. Surface area: 189.08 acres.
Is Kemo Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Kemo Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Kemo Lake?
- Kemo Lake typically sits around 68°F at the surface in September, from 109 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2022–2025). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Kemo Lake?
- Kemo Lake has a maximum depth of 65 feet. The lake covers 189.08 acres.
What fish are in Kemo Lake?
- Fish species found in Kemo Lake include lake trout, splake, white sucker. Kemo Lake is located in Cook County, Minnesota.
What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Kemo Lake?
- Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 31, 2023 caught 4.50 lake trout per gill net at Kemo Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 7–21 inches. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Kemo Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
Can I fish at Kemo Lake?
- Public access to Kemo Lake is listed as no on the lake record, so confirm before you make the trip. 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
45 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA45 samples · 2020–2025
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