Perch Lake
Carlton County, MinnesotaView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Perch Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 68 ft max depth
- Public access
Perch Lake in Carlton County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 51 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 6.1 µg/L.
Perch Lake is a productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Carlton County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 68 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 21 other monitored lakes in Carlton County, Perch Lake ranks #7 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2024-10-09. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Perch Lake has one public boat landing. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Perch Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Perch Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyModerate algae
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Perch 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 Perch Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Perch 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 2.2 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 51 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 6.1 µg/L. TSI 58.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.2ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 51µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 6.1µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 58 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Perch 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 Perch 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 — PerchPublic Water Access Sites · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
~68 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 Perch Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
8 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
642 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
8.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,283 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.
Recreation & Access
- Perch LakePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Perch Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Perch Lake in Carlton County, Minnesota — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water.
Top-rated places to stay near Perch Lake
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Fishing Perch Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Improving5 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+69.1 µg/L/yr4 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-0.65 µg/L/yr5 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Perch Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Perch Lake, 7 ft tall.
- Normal storage
- 3,801 ac-ft
- Hazard class
- Undetermined
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MN01283 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Carlton County
Frequently asked questions about Perch Lake
Where is Perch Lake?
- Perch Lake is a lake in Carlton County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Perch Lake?
- Perch Lake in Carlton County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 51 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 6.1 µg/L.
Is Perch Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Perch Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Perch Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 68 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Are there boat ramps on Perch Lake?
- Perch Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Perch Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Perch Lake?
- Perch Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. 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.
Explore Perch Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
248 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2020–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa (MN)
FONDULAC_WQX248 samples · 2020–2024
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Two Reagent Colorimetry
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H 2 ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination by spectrophotometer
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- Color, APHA Platinum-Cobalt
- For determination of Copper by the Bicinchoninate method.
Monitoring station identifiers (2)
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory