Long Lake

Long Lake sits at the top of the Minnesota PCA grading rubric with an A, a mark reached by the cleanest lakes in 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. At 87 ft of maximum depth, Long Lake stratifies reliably through the summer — the hypolimnion stays cooler and clearer than the surface layer suggests. The lake's 412 acres and 7.7 miles of shoreline put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Long Lake ranks 3 of 86 in Beltrami County, putting it in the upper tier of locally monitored lakes.

Long Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2024, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 11 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. No formal public access is documented at Long Lake — most use is by shoreline residents and their guests. The lake has a partial ice record — 15 observed ice-outs, centered near Apr 22. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.