Kid Lake
Cass County, Minnesota168 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Kid Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- 52 ft max depth
Kid Lake in Cass County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 15.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 11.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.3 µg/L. Maximum depth: 52 ft. Surface area: 168.06 acres.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 9, 1990 caught 6.00 walleye per gill net at Kid Lake. DNR survey details →
Kid Lake is a 168-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Cass County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 52 feet. Water clarity is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. No public access — the lake is private or restricted. Compared to the 103 other monitored lakes in Cass County, Kid Lake ranks #66 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-09-29. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Kid Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water15.5 ft of visibility
- Ice seasonIce-out around Apr 17
- Deep water52 ft surveyed max depth
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLow algae
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 Kid 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 Kid Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Kid 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 15.5 ft down. Phosphorus 11.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 3.3 µg/L. TSI 40.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 15.5ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 11.5µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 3.3µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 40 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Kid Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Kid Lake typically sits around 68°F at the surface in September. Summer average is about 73°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 76°F) and coldest in May (about 68°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (68°F) to its warmest (76°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 30 field readings (2011–2023) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Kid Lake water temperature breakdown →
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 9, 1990 caught 6.00 walleye per gill net at Kid Lake.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Kid Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is stable. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
4 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 1990-07-09 (Standard Survey).
4 surveys on file · most recent 1990-07-09 (Standard Survey)
36 years old| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | 16.75 | 0.18 lb | |
| Yellow Perch | 5.92 | 0.14 lb | |
| Tullibee (Cisco) | 5.88 | 0.84 lb | |
| Walleye | 4.82 | 1.96 lb | |
| Pumpkinseed | 3.21 | 0.19 lb | |
| Rock Bass | 2.78 | 0.25 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.
From the 1990-07-09 survey
Northen cisco have been collected in Kid Lake during the past two assessments, but not during the previous two.The northern pike gillnet catch of 5.0 is within the historical range of 2.5 to 7.0. All of the fish collected during this assessment were less than 26 inches long. Previous assessments sampled fish larger…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Kid Lake. 2 reports on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — KidFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Fish Stocking History — KidFish Stocking History · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
52 ft
Surface area
168 acres
Shoreline
2.7 mi
Littoral zone
21%
Share shallower than 15 ft
Public access
No
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
18 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,325 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS).
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Kid Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Kid Lake in Cass 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 Kid Lake
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Follow Kid Lake’s readings
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Fishing Kid Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Improving6 years
Phosphorus
Stable+0.07 µg/L/yr6 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.17 µg/L/yr6 years
Ice season
Typical ice-out
Apr 17
Earliest Mar 1, 2008 · Latest May 4, 2008
Typical ice-in
Nov 23
Earliest Nov 19, 2002 · Latest Nov 29, 2007
Most recent ice-out
Apr 24
2015
18 observations · Minnesota PCA ice records
Nearby Lakes in Cass County
Frequently asked questions about Kid Lake
Where is Kid Lake?
- Kid Lake is a lake in Cass County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Kid Lake?
- Kid Lake in Cass County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 15.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 11.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.3 µg/L. Maximum depth: 52 ft. Surface area: 168.06 acres.
Is Kid Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Kid Lake?
- Kid Lake typically sits around 68°F at the surface in September, from 30 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2011–2023). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Kid Lake?
- Kid Lake has a maximum depth of 52 feet. The lake covers 168.06 acres.
What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Kid Lake?
- Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 9, 1990 caught 6.00 walleye per gill net at Kid Lake. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Kid Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is stable. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
When does Kid Lake thaw?
- Kid Lake typically has ice-out around Apr 17. Ice typically forms around Nov 23. The open water season is approximately 220 days.
Can I fish at Kid Lake?
- Public access to Kid 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
53 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA53 samples · 2021–2025
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
- Phosphorus by Two Reagent Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
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
Ice data from Minnesota DNR Climate