Long Lake
Stearns County, Minnesota153 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Long Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 46 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Long Lake in Stearns County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 14 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 46 ft. Surface area: 152.71 acres.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on August 2, 2010 caught 0.25 walleye per gill net at Long Lake. DNR survey details →
Long Lake is a 153-acre lake in Stearns County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 46 feet (19-foot average). Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. The lake supports 11 documented fish species including black bullhead, black crappie, and bluegill. Public access is available.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-09-07. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Long Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water14 ft of visibility
- Fishing11 species recorded
- Deep water46 ft surveyed max depth
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Long 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.
Water quality measurements for Long Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Long 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 14 ft. TSI 39.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 14ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No 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. | 39 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Long Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on August 2, 2010 caught 0.25 walleye per gill net at Long Lake.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Long Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
3 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2010-08-02 (Standard Survey).
3 surveys on file · most recent 2010-08-02 (Standard Survey)
16 years old| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | 20.14 | 3–8 in 2010-08-02 | 0.14 lb |
| Largemouth Bass | 8.40 | 6–17 in 2010-08-02 | 0.65 lb |
| Northern Pike | 7.45 | 10–28 in 2010-08-02 | 1.24 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.
Bluegill
Largemouth Bass
Northern Pike
From the 2010-08-02 survey
Long Lake is a recreational lake located near the town of Cold Spring in Stearns County. The lake was first surveyed in 1960. Between 1908 and 1948, Long Lake has been occasionally stocked with pike, bass, crappie, and sunfish. Walleye fingerlings were also stocked in1950. Bullhead were removed in 1965-66. In 2010,…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Long Lake. 1 report on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — LongFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
46 ft
Average depth
19.3 ft
Surface area
153 acres
Shoreline
2.9 mi
Littoral zone
60%
Share shallower than 15 ft
Public access
Yes
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
3 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,198 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS).
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Long Lake
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Follow Long Lake’s readings
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Long Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Worsening6 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+1.04 µg/L/yr6 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.05 µg/L/yr5 years
Nearby Lakes in Stearns County
Frequently asked questions about Long Lake
Where is Long Lake?
- Long Lake is a lake in Stearns County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Long Lake?
- Long Lake in Stearns County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 14 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 46 ft. Surface area: 152.71 acres.
Is Long Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Long Lake?
- Long Lake has a maximum depth of 46 feet and an average depth of 19.3 feet. The lake covers 152.71 acres.
What fish are in Long Lake?
- Fish species found in Long Lake include black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, yellow bullhead. Long Lake is located in Stearns County, Minnesota.
What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Long Lake?
- Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on August 2, 2010 caught 0.25 walleye per gill net at Long Lake. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Long Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
Can I fish at Long Lake?
- Public access to Long Lake is listed as yes on the lake record. 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.
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Where this data comes from
80 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA80 samples · 2020–2025
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder