Pelican Lake

Pelican Lake comes in at a B on the grading rubric — a respectable showing for a Minnesota lake of its size and depth.

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. Pelican Lake reaches 46 ft at its deepest point — typical for Minnesota mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. The lake's 291 acres and 3.2 miles of shoreline put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Pelican Lake ranks 9 of 55 in Stearns County, putting it in the upper tier of locally monitored lakes.

Pelican 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 Pelican Lake, one of 14 fish species on record for the lake. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. Ice-out has been logged at Pelican Lake more than two dozen times, putting the median around Apr 8 — a useful baseline for tracking climate trends. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.