Kreighle Lake

Kreighle Lake sits at the top of the Minnesota PCA grading rubric with an A, a mark reached by the cleanest lakes in Minnesota. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

Trophically, Kreighle Lake reads as oligotrophic — nutrient-poor, clear, and ecologically more sensitive to disturbance than richer lakes. Kreighle Lake is unusually deep for Minnesota at 66 ft, which buffers the lake against summer warming and helps the deep water stay oxygenated. The lake's 102 acres and 2.0 miles of shoreline put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Within Stearns County's 55 graded waters, Kreighle Lake sits at rank 3, near the top of the local distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Kreighle Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 9, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. The lake lacks a documented public access point, so visitor use is limited. The lake has a partial ice record — 21 observed ice-outs, centered near Apr 8. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.