Pig Lake

Pig Lake sits at the top of the Minnesota PCA grading rubric with an A, a mark reached by the cleanest lakes in Minnesota. The two scored sub-grades — clarity and phosphorus — track close together, so neither one is dragging the average down.

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. The lake's 56 ft maximum depth is in the upper tier for Minnesota — deep enough for cold-water fish to find refuge in summer. Pig Lake covers 196 acres alongside 3.0 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Among the 120 graded lakes in Crow Wing County, Pig Lake ranks 30 — in the top quartile locally.

Zebra mussels have been documented at Pig Lake, which alters the filter-feeding balance and can paradoxically increase water clarity while disrupting the food web. The fishery includes walleye among the lake's 20 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. No formal public access is documented at Pig Lake — most use is by shoreline residents and their guests. The lake has a partial ice record — 9 observed ice-outs, centered near Apr 21. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.