Mukooda Lake
St. Louis County, MinnesotaMesotrophic
Mukooda Lake earns an A — every scored parameter (clarity and phosphorus) rates among the best monitored waters in St. Louis County. With clarity and phosphorus scored, the sub-grades cluster within a letter of each other, pointing to stable conditions rather than one specific stressor.
The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Minnesota lakes fall. The lake's 78 ft maximum depth is in the upper tier for Minnesota — deep enough for cold-water fish to find refuge in summer. At 774 acres, Mukooda Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 5.4 miles of shoreline. Mukooda Lake ranks 4 of 187 in St. Louis County, putting it in the upper tier of locally monitored lakes.
Mukooda Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2024, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. Walleye are documented at Mukooda Lake, one of 14 fish species on record for the lake. The lake lacks a documented public access point, so visitor use is limited. 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.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2024-08-26. Grade methodology: LakeGrade methodology.
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Swimming Safety
Excellent for swimming, crystal clear water with minimal algae
Water Quality Grade: A, Excellent
Crystal clear, you can see 16.6 ft down. Phosphorus level: 17 µg/L. Trophic State Index: 41.
| Metric | Value | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity (Secchi Depth) | 16.6 ft | A |
| Phosphorus | 17 µg/L | A |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | |
| Trophic State Index (TSI) | 41 | Mesotrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Lake Details
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum Depth | 78 ft |
| Average Depth | 39.9 ft |
| Surface Area | 773.76 acres |
| Shoreline Length | 5.4 mi |
| Littoral Zone | 20% |
| Public Access | No |
Fish Species
Click a species to see all Minnesota and Wisconsin lakes where it is found.
→ Best fishing times for Mukooda Lake (14-day solunar calendar)
→ Is it safe to eat fish from Mukooda Lake? (mercury & PFAS guide)
→ Mukooda Lake fishing regulations (limits, seasons, special rules)
Water Quality Trend: → Stable
Based on 5 years of monitoring data (2020-2025).
| Metric | Trend | Change/Year | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | ↑ Improving | +0.126 m/yr | 5 |
| Phosphorus | ↓ Declining | +3.28 µg/L/yr | 4 |
Location
County Ranking
Ranked #4 of 187 lakes in St. Louis County
Nearby Lakes in St. Louis County
More Minnesota Lake Rankings
Other Grade A Lakes in Minnesota
Mesotrophic Lakes in Minnesota
Compare Mukooda Lake With Nearby Lakes
St. Louis County · Grade C
St. Louis County · Grade D
St. Louis County · Grade D
St. Louis County · Grade D
St. Louis County · Grade D
St. Louis County · Grade A
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
9 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2022-08-22 (Standard Survey).
Top Species by Catch Rate
| Species | Avg CPUE | Avg Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Tullibee (Cisco) | 27.84 | 0.14 lb |
| Largemouth Bass | 3.98 | 1.24 lb |
| Northern Pike | 3.53 | 5.01 lb |
| Bluegill | 3.20 | 0.13 lb |
| LES | 2.92 | 0.29 lb |
| Black Crappie | 2.62 | 0.67 lb |
CPUE = catch per unit effort, averaged across surveys (excludes juvenile shoreline seining). Higher CPUE = more abundant in standardized sampling.
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.
Tullibee (Cisco)
Largemouth Bass
Northern Pike
Bluegill
From the 2022-08-22 survey
Mukooda Lake is a 774 acre lake located within Voyageurs National Park. The lake is accessed from Sand Point Lake, where the National Park Service maintains a dock at the beginning of the short portage into Mukooda Lake. This isolated lake can also be accessed via snowmobile trails in the winter. The National Park…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Mukooda Lake. 1 report on file.
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — MukoodaFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
EPA Impairment Status
Mukooda Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MN69-0684-00 · Official waterbody report
Data Sources
Water quality data from the EPA Water Quality Portal
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Grading methodology based on Metropolitan Council standards
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder
Most recent sample: 2024-08-26
Monitoring stations: 1