Perch Lake
Crow Wing County, MinnesotaView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Perch Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 36 ft max depth
- Limited data
Perch Lake in Crow Wing County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 16 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.5 µg/L.
Perch Lake is a mesotrophic lake in Crow Wing County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 36 feet. Limited fish-species data available. No public access — the lake is private or restricted. Compared to the 84 other monitored lakes in Crow Wing County, Perch Lake ranks #35 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2020-09-23. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
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.
Murky, only visible to about 5.9 ft. Phosphorus 16 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 3.5 µg/L. TSI 46.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 5.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 16µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 3.5µg/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. | 46 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Perch Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~36 ft est.
Public access
No
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
1 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
143 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,191 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 Perch Lake
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Fishing Perch Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 4 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Stable4 years
Nearby Lakes in Crow Wing County
Frequently asked questions about Perch Lake
Where is Perch Lake?
- Perch Lake is a lake in Crow Wing 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 Crow Wing County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 16 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.5 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 36 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 Perch Lake?
- Public access to Perch Lake is listed as no on the lake record, so confirm before you make the trip. 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
13 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA13 samples · 2020
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
- Phosphorus by Two Reagent Colorimetry
- 10200 H 2 ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination by spectrophotometer
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder