Kettle Lake
Carlton County, MinnesotaView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Kettle Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 48 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Kettle Lake in Carlton County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 29 µg/L.
Kettle Lake is a productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Carlton County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 48 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 21 other monitored lakes in Carlton County, Kettle Lake ranks #15 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-07-08. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Kettle Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Kettle 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 Kettle Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Kettle Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. Phosphorus 29 µg/L. TSI 53.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | No reading How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. | |
| Total phosphorus | 29µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| 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. | 53 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Kettle Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Kettle Lake. 2 reports on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Aquatic Plant Report — Kettle (0254)Aquatic Plant Report · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Public Water Access Sites — KettlePublic Water Access Sites · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
~48 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 Kettle Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
34 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
432 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
4.7 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,263 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
- Kettle LakePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Kettle Lake
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Top-rated places to stay near Kettle Lake
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Follow Kettle Lake’s readings
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Fishing Kettle Lake
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2023–2025). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Improving-2 µg/L/yr3 years
Nearby Lakes in Carlton County
Frequently asked questions about Kettle Lake
Where is Kettle Lake?
- Kettle Lake is a lake in Carlton County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Kettle Lake?
- Kettle Lake in Carlton County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 29 µg/L.
Is Kettle Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Kettle Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Kettle Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 48 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 Kettle Lake?
- Kettle Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Kettle Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Kettle Lake?
- Kettle Lake has 1 documented boat landing 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.
Explore Kettle Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
7 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2023–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA7 samples · 2023–2025
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
- Phosphorus by Two Reagent Colorimetry
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- Turbidity by Nephelometry
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
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory