Lee Lake
Becker County, MinnesotaView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Lee Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 48 ft max depth
- Limited data
Lee Lake in Becker County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 6.3 ft visibility.
Lee Lake is a lake in Becker 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. No public access — the lake is private or restricted.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-08-16. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
The median ice-out date is April 15, which is when the open-water season begins. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Lee Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Lee Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Ice seasonIce-out around Apr 15
Swimming conditions
No readingRecreation use not supported
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Lee Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Lee 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 Lee Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Lee Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 6.3 ft. TSI 51.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 6.3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| 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. | 51 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Lee Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~48 ft est.
Public access
No
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 Lee Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
10 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
77 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,309 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.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Lee Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lee Lake in Becker 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 Lee Lake
Prices for Oct 9–11, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
Planning a whole trip? See where to stay at Minnesota’s top lakes →
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Fishing Lee Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Improving6 years
Ice season
Typical ice-out
Apr 15
Earliest Mar 17, 2024 · Latest May 8, 2013
Typical ice-in
Nov 21
Earliest Oct 25, 1991 · Latest Nov 30, 2006
Most recent ice-out
Mar 17
2024
34 observations · Minnesota PCA ice records
EPA Impairment Status
Lee Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MN03-0619-00 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Becker County
Frequently asked questions about Lee Lake
Where is Lee Lake?
- Lee Lake is a lake in Becker County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lee Lake?
- Lee Lake in Becker County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 6.3 ft visibility.
Is Lee Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Lee Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lee Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lee 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.
When does Lee Lake thaw?
- Lee Lake typically has ice-out around Apr 15. Ice typically forms around Nov 21. The open water season is approximately 220 days.
Can I fish at Lee Lake?
- Public access to Lee 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
58 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA58 samples · 2020–2025
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
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
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder
Ice data from Minnesota DNR Climate