King Lake

The LakeGrade rubric puts King Lake at a C: clarity at 4.5 ft, 36 µg/L of phosphorus, and a TSI of 56 signal an intermediate trophic state. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

Eutrophic conditions are the baseline here: clarity drops noticeably in late summer, and dissolved oxygen near the bottom can become a concern. The lake bottoms out at 23 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. At 311 acres, King Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 4.0 miles of shoreline. Within the 141 graded lakes of Itasca County, King Lake sits at rank 121, near the bottom of the county list.

No invasive species are currently listed at King Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. Walleye are documented at King Lake, one of 10 fish species on record for the lake. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.