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LakeQuality

Loiten Lake

St. Louis County, Minnesota94 acresView mapDirections

Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Loiten Lake. Here is what has been measured.

Clarity
11.5 ft
Typical for Minnesota
Secchi · sampled 2023
Max depth
49 ft
Bathymetric survey
Area
94 acres
Surface area
Shoreline
2.2 mi
Measured length
  • Impaired · Mercury
  • 49 ft max depth
  • Limited data

Loiten Lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 11.5 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 49 ft. Surface area: 93.89 acres.

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 20, 2015 caught 0.33 largemouth bass per gill net at Loiten Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 5–16 inches. DNR survey details →

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Loiten Lake is a 94-acre lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 49 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. The lake supports 3 documented fish species including largemouth bass, pumpkinseed, and rock bass. No public access — the lake is private or restricted.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2023-08-07. Methodology: how these readings are compared.

Loiten Lake covers about 94 acres in St. Louis County. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Loiten Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.

What Loiten Lake is good for

From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.

  • Clear water11.5 ft of visibility
  • Fishing3 species recorded
  • Deep water49 ft surveyed max depth

Swimming conditions

No reading

Limited data

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Loiten Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.

Whether Loiten 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.

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Water quality measurements for Loiten Lake

These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Loiten Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.

Good clarity, visible to about 11.5 ft. TSI 42.

Water quality readings
MeasureReadingWhere it sits
Water clarity (Secchi depth)11.5ftMeasured, not scored

How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer.

Total phosphorusNo 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.42Mesotrophic
OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic

Moderate nutrients, good water quality

Ask about Loiten Lake

Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.

DNR fisheries survey

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 20, 2015 caught 0.33 largemouth bass per gill net at Loiten Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 5–16 inches.

A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Loiten Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 2 years of monitoring is improving. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.

DNR Fisheries Survey Summary

2 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2015-07-20 (Standard Survey).

2 surveys on file · most recent 2015-07-20 (Standard Survey)

SpeciesCatch rate (CPUE)SizeAvg weight
Largemouth Bass
6.43
5–16 in
2015-07-20
0.78 lb
Yellow Perch
3.67
1 in
2001-08-06
Rock Bass
0.55
4–6 in
2015-07-20
0.14 lb

CPUE = catch per unit effort, fish caught per net per set in a standardised survey. It measures abundance, not size, and is not a weekly bite report.

Length Distributions

Number of fish caught at each inch class in the most recent survey that recorded lengths. Red dashed line marks an approximate trophy threshold for that species.

Largemouth Bass

62 fish · 5–16 in · 2015-07-20
9505678910111213141516

Yellow Perch

11 fish · 1–1 in · 2001-08-06
11601

Rock Bass

5 fish · 4–6 in · 2015-07-20
420456

From the 2015-07-20 survey

A standard lake survey was completed on Loiten Lake in 2015 as part of a scheduled investigation in accordance with the Loiten Lake management plan. Loiten is a 94 acre lake located within Voyageurs National Park. It is located in the mass of land between Kabetogama and Rainy Lake, and is part of a chain of lakes…

Source: MN DNR LakeFinder Fisheries Lake Survey

DNR Reports & Resources

Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Loiten Lake. 1 report on file.

These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).

Lake Details

Max depth

49 ft

Surface area

94 acres

Shoreline

2.2 mi

Littoral zone

24%

Share shallower than 15 ft

Public access

No

Listed by Minnesota PCA

Lake Size & Watershed

Watershed (drainage) area

1 sq mi

HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS

Elevation

1,184 ft

Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS).

Stays via Stay22

Stays near Loiten Lake

Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Loiten Lake in St. Louis 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 Loiten 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 →

Follow Loiten Lake’s readings

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Fish Species

Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.

Fishing Loiten Lake

2 seasons of samples on record (2022–2023). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.

  • Water clarity

    Improving

    2 years

EPA Impairment Status

Loiten Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).

Causes of impairment

Mercury

Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.

Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MN69-0872-00 · Official waterbody report

Nearby Lakes in St. Louis County

Frequently asked questions about Loiten Lake

Where is Loiten Lake?

Loiten Lake is a lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.

What is the water quality of Loiten Lake?

Loiten Lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 11.5 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 49 ft. Surface area: 93.89 acres.

Measurements on this page ↑

Is Loiten Lake safe to swim in?

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Loiten Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.

Swimming on this page ↑

How deep is Loiten Lake?

Loiten Lake has a maximum depth of 49 feet. The lake covers 93.89 acres.

What fish are in Loiten Lake?

Fish species found in Loiten Lake include largemouth bass, pumpkinseed, rock bass. Loiten Lake is located in St. Louis County, Minnesota.

Fish on this page ↑

What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Loiten Lake?

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 20, 2015 caught 0.33 largemouth bass per gill net at Loiten Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 5–16 inches. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Loiten Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 2 years of monitoring is improving. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.

DNR on this page ↑

Can I fish at Loiten Lake?

Public access to Loiten 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.

Where this data comes from

1 measurement from 1 monitoring station, 2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.

Collected and reported by

  • USGS Minnesota Water Science CenterUSGS-MN1 sample · 2023
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