Peary Lake

Peary Lake comes in at a B on the grading rubric — a respectable showing for a Minnesota lake of its size and depth. The two scored sub-grades — clarity and phosphorus — track close together, so neither one is dragging the average down.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Minnesota lakes fall. The lake bottoms out at 15 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. Peary Lake covers 116 acres alongside 2.6 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Among the 187 graded lakes in St. Louis County, Peary Lake sits at rank 77, above the county median.

Peary Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2024, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The fishery is panfish-dominated — bluegill, crappie, and sunfish among the 8 species documented for the lake. No formal public access is documented at Peary Lake — most use is by shoreline residents and their guests. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.