Little Split Hand Lake

Little Split Hand Lake sits at a C on the grading scale — not impaired, not pristine, with summer measurements that vary year to year.

A TSI near 45 places Little Split Hand Lake in the mesotrophic band — moderate productivity, with seasonal swings between clearer spring water and richer late-summer conditions. A maximum depth of 25 ft puts Little Split Hand Lake in the middle of Minnesota's depth distribution. The lake's 244 acres and 2.7 miles of shoreline put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Little Split Hand Lake ranks 111 of 141 in Itasca County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Little Split Hand Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. Walleye are documented at Little Split Hand Lake, one of 17 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 recorded 8 times at Little Split Hand Lake, with a median around Apr 9. Monitoring depth is thin here: the LakeGrade rubric is applied to a small number of sample years, and the grade will be revised as more data accumulates.