Moose Lake

Moose Lake comes in at a B on the grading rubric — a respectable showing for a Minnesota lake of its size and depth. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

Mesotrophic conditions dominate at Moose Lake: enough nutrients for a healthy fishery, not so much that algal blooms become a chronic problem. Moose Lake is unusually deep for Minnesota at 52 ft, which buffers the lake against summer warming and helps the deep water stay oxygenated. Moose Lake covers 412 acres alongside 6.6 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Within Itasca County's 141 graded lakes, Moose Lake ranks 91 — below the local median, though not at the bottom.

Moose Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2021, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. Walleye are documented at Moose Lake, one of 10 fish species on record for the lake. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.