Medicine Lake

The LakeGrade rubric puts Medicine Lake at a C: clarity at 8.2 ft, 74 µg/L of phosphorus, and a TSI of 57 signal an intermediate trophic state. 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.

A TSI in the eutrophic range signals a lake doing what nutrient-loaded waters do — supporting an active algal community at the cost of clear water. Medicine Lake reaches 49 ft at its deepest point — typical for Minnesota mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. Medicine Lake covers 924 acres alongside 8.8 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Among the 95 graded lakes in Hennepin County, Medicine Lake ranks 22 — in the top quartile locally.

Zebra mussels have been documented at Medicine Lake, which alters the filter-feeding balance and can paradoxically increase water clarity while disrupting the food web. Walleye are documented at Medicine Lake, one of 15 fish species on record for the lake. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. The lake has a long ice-out record — 141 observations on file, with a median ice-out around Apr 10. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.