Long Lake

Long Lake pulls a D on the LakeGrade rubric — phosphorus loading and limited clarity hold it below the Minnesota average. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

At a TSI of 65, Long Lake reads as eutrophic — nutrient-rich enough that summer algal growth and reduced clarity are expected, not unusual. A maximum depth of 16 ft puts Long Lake in the middle of Minnesota's depth distribution. With 1,573 acres of surface and 12.5 miles of shoreline, Long Lake is a large water by Minnesota standards — recreational pressure is spread across a long shoreline. Long Lake sits at rank 19 of 35 in Kandiyohi County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

Zebra mussel presence at Long Lake means the lake's clarity numbers carry an asterisk — filtered water is not the same as nutrient-poor water. Walleye are documented at Long Lake, one of 16 fish species on record for the lake. 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.