Long Lake

Long Lake earns an A — water clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate among the best monitored waters in Becker County. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

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. The lake's 61 ft maximum depth is in the upper tier for Minnesota — deep enough for cold-water fish to find refuge in summer. The lake's 415 acres and 6.4 miles of shoreline put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Long Lake ranks 3 of 93 in Becker County, putting it in the upper tier of locally monitored lakes.

Long Lake is on the Minnesota infested-waters list for zebra mussels — boaters should follow clean-drain-dry protocols when moving gear to or from the lake. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 16 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. A documented public access point at Long Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. Ice-out has been logged at Long Lake more than two dozen times, putting the median around Apr 19 — 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.