Owl Lake

Owl Lake sits at the top of the Minnesota PCA grading rubric with an A, a mark reached by the cleanest lakes in Minnesota.

The lake's low TSI puts it in oligotrophic territory — the cleanest of the four trophic classes, but also the most vulnerable to nutrient-driven shifts. The lake bottoms out at 26 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. Owl Lake is small — 90 acres alongside 2.3 miles of shoreline — which makes it sensitive to even modest changes in watershed runoff or recreational pressure. Among the 76 graded lakes in Hubbard County, Owl Lake ranks 15 — in the top quartile locally.

No invasive species are currently listed at Owl Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. 4 fish species are documented at Owl Lake, a mixed warm-water community typical for Minnesota lakes of this size. No formal public access is documented at Owl Lake — most use is by shoreline residents and their guests. The lake has a partial ice record — 23 observed ice-outs, centered near Apr 15. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.