Long Lake

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

Trophically, Long Lake reads as oligotrophic — nutrient-poor, clear, and ecologically more sensitive to disturbance than richer lakes. Long Lake is unusually deep for Minnesota at 85 ft, which buffers the lake against summer warming and helps the deep water stay oxygenated. Long Lake covers 134 acres alongside 3.6 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Among the 141 graded lakes in Itasca County, Long Lake ranks 3 — in the top quartile locally.

No invasive species are currently listed at Long Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 12 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. 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.