Le Homme Dieu Lake

Le Homme Dieu Lake carries a solid B grade — strong on most parameters, with measurements that hold up well across the summer season. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

A TSI near 44 places Le Homme Dieu Lake in the mesotrophic band — moderate productivity, with seasonal swings between clearer spring water and richer late-summer conditions. Le Homme Dieu Lake is unusually deep for Minnesota at 85 ft, which buffers the lake against summer warming and helps the deep water stay oxygenated. At 1,801 acres, Le Homme Dieu Lake is one of the larger lakes in Douglas County, with 10.1 miles of shoreline supporting multiple distinct use patterns. Le Homme Dieu Lake sits at rank 30 of 51 in Douglas County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

Zebra mussels have been documented at Le Homme Dieu Lake, which alters the filter-feeding balance and can paradoxically increase water clarity while disrupting the food web. Walleye are documented at Le Homme Dieu Lake, one of 20 fish species on record for the lake. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. Ice-out has been logged at Le Homme Dieu Lake more than two dozen times, putting the median around Apr 18 — a useful baseline for tracking climate trends. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.