Nelson Lake
Goodhue County, MinnesotaView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Nelson Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 6 aquatic invasives
- 41 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Nelson Lake in Goodhue County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.3 ft visibility.
Nelson Lake is a lake in Goodhue County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 41 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2023-10-05. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Nelson 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 Nelson Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Nelson Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 3.3 ft of visibility. TSI 60.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.3ft | 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. | 60 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Nelson Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Nelson Lake. 1 report on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Public Water Access Sites — NelsonPublic Water Access Sites · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
~41 ft est.
Public access
Yes
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Minnesota has not published bathymetry for Nelson Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
0 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
35 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.3 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
659 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
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Stays near Nelson Lake
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Fishing Nelson Lake
Invasive & Introduced Species
Red chips are ecologically harmful invasive species. Gray chips are stocked or introduced fish that aren't a current ecological concern.
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
1 EPA-permitted facility operate within about 5 miles of Nelson Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 1 facility has a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Prairie IslandWelch · 0.6 mi away · NPDES MN0061336Recent violation
Facilities permitted to discharge under the Clean Water Act within ~5 miles; proximity does not by itself mean a facility affects this lake. Source: EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES), as of 2026-07.
Nearby Lakes in Goodhue County
Frequently asked questions about Nelson Lake
Where is Nelson Lake?
- Nelson Lake is a lake in Goodhue County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Nelson Lake?
- Nelson Lake in Goodhue County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.3 ft visibility.
Is Nelson Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Nelson Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Nelson Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 41 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Can I fish at Nelson Lake?
- Public access to Nelson 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
3 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA3 samples · 2023
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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder