Lower Elk Lake

Lower Elk Lake pulls a D on the LakeGrade rubric — phosphorus loading and limited clarity hold it below the Minnesota average. Clarity is the limiting factor — phosphorus is reasonable but suspended particles or algal cells keep water transparency below Minnesota norms.

Eutrophic conditions are the baseline here: clarity drops noticeably in late summer, and dissolved oxygen near the bottom can become a concern. A maximum depth of just 13 ft means sediment-bound phosphorus releases back into the water column whenever wind stirs the bottom — a classic shallow-lake dynamic. At 131 acres, Lower Elk Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 2.7 miles of shoreline. Within Grant County's 10 graded lakes, Lower Elk Lake ranks 6 — below the local median, though not at the bottom.

No invasive species are currently listed at Lower Elk Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. Walleye are documented at Lower Elk Lake, one of 12 fish species on record for the lake. The lake lacks a documented public access point, so visitor use is limited. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.