Little Star Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Little Star Lake pulls an A: clarity at 18.5 ft and phosphorus readings still being added put it in the top bracket for Minnesota. Sub-grades cluster within a single letter of each other, which usually means the lake is in stable trophic balance rather than fighting one specific stressor.

The lake's low TSI puts it in oligotrophic territory — the cleanest of the four trophic classes, but also the most vulnerable to nutrient-driven shifts. Little Star Lake reaches 30 ft at its deepest point — typical for Minnesota mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. Little Star Lake is small — 49 acres alongside 1.5 miles of shoreline — which makes it sensitive to even modest changes in watershed runoff or recreational pressure. Among the 120 graded lakes in Crow Wing County, Little Star Lake sits at rank 36, above the county median.

No invasive species are currently listed at Little Star Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 13, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. No formal public access is documented at Little Star Lake — most use is by shoreline residents and their guests. 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.