Pickerel Lake
Dakota County, Minnesota114 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Pickerel Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 11 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Pickerel Lake in Dakota County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.5 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 11 ft. Surface area: 114.37 acres.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 29, 2015 caught 3.00 northern pike per gill net at Pickerel Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 12–31 inches. DNR survey details →
Pickerel Lake is a 114-acre lake in Dakota County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 11 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. The lake supports 15 documented fish species including black crappie, bluegill, and bowfin (dogfish). Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-09-30. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Pickerel Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Fishing15 species recorded
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Pickerel Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Pickerel 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 Pickerel Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Pickerel 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 3.5 ft. TSI 59.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.5ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 59 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Pickerel Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Pickerel Lake typically sits around 71°F at the surface in September. Summer average is about 75°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 77°F) and coldest in Sep (about 71°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (71°F) to its warmest (77°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 24 field readings (2019–2025) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Pickerel Lake water temperature breakdown →
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 29, 2015 caught 3.00 northern pike per gill net at Pickerel Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 12–31 inches.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Pickerel Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 3 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
5 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2015-06-29 (Standard Survey).
5 surveys on file · most recent 2015-06-29 (Standard Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Bullhead | 32.72 | 10–12 in 2004-07-06 | 0.33 lb |
| Bluegill | 17.46 | 3–6 in 2015-06-29 | 0.13 lb |
| Largemouth Bass | 6.54 | 5 in 2015-06-29 | 0.36 lb |
| Northern Pike | 6.02 | 12–31 in 2015-06-29 | 2.65 lb |
| Pumpkinseed | 4.97 | 5 in 2015-06-29 | 0.09 lb |
CPUE = catch per unit effort, fish caught per net per set in a standardised survey. It measures abundance, not size, and is not a weekly bite report.
Length Distributions
Number of fish caught at each inch class in the most recent survey that recorded lengths. Red dashed line marks an approximate trophy threshold for that species.
Black Bullhead
Bluegill
Largemouth Bass
Northern Pike
From the 2015-06-29 survey
Pickerel Lake is a 90-acre, class 37 lake located in the Mississippi River floodplain in Lilydale. The lake lies entirely within the Lilydale/Harriet Island Regional Park. During flood events the Mississippi River inundates this shallow, heavily-vegetated basin. Flooding has occurred as recently as the summer of 2010.…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Pickerel Lake. 1 report on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — PickerelFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
11 ft
Surface area
114 acres
Shoreline
2.5 mi
Littoral zone
100%
Share shallower than 15 ft
Public access
Yes
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
36,792 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
689 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS).
Recreation & Access
- LilydalePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Pickerel Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Pickerel Lake in Dakota 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 Pickerel Lake
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Pickerel Lake
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2020–2025). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening3 years
EPA Impairment Status
Pickerel Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MN19-0079-00 · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
5 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Pickerel Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits, including 2 classified by the EPA as major dischargers.
- Xcel Energy - High Bridge Combined Cycle PlantSaint Paul · 1 mi away · NPDES MN0000884Major
- St Paul Municipal Storm WaterSaint Paul, City Of · 2.2 mi away · NPDES MN0061263Major
- Nexeo Solutions LlcDublin · 0.8 mi away · NPDES MN0053988
- United & Children'S HospitalsSaint Paul · 1.8 mi away · NPDES MN0002968
- Intek Plastics, Inc.Hastings · 2.1 mi away · NPDES MN0003417
Facilities permitted to discharge under the Clean Water Act within ~5 miles; proximity does not by itself mean a facility affects this lake. Source: EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES), as of 2026-07.
Nearby Lakes in Dakota County
Frequently asked questions about Pickerel Lake
Where is Pickerel Lake?
- Pickerel Lake is a lake in Dakota County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Pickerel Lake?
- Pickerel Lake in Dakota County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.5 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 11 ft. Surface area: 114.37 acres.
Is Pickerel Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Pickerel Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Pickerel Lake?
- Pickerel Lake typically sits around 71°F at the surface in September, from 24 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2019–2025). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Pickerel Lake?
- Pickerel Lake has a maximum depth of 11 feet. The lake covers 114.37 acres.
What fish are in Pickerel Lake?
- Fish species found in Pickerel Lake include black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), channel catfish, common carp, freshwater drum, gizzard shad, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, silver redhorse, white crappie, yellow perch. Pickerel Lake is located in Dakota County, Minnesota.
What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Pickerel Lake?
- Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 29, 2015 caught 3.00 northern pike per gill net at Pickerel Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 12–31 inches. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Pickerel Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 3 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
Are there boat ramps on Pickerel Lake?
- Pickerel Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Lilydale. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Pickerel Lake?
- Pickerel 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 Pickerel Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
18 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA18 samples · 2020–2025
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
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
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory