Pipe Lake

Pipe Lake carries a solid B grade — strong on most parameters, with measurements that hold up well across the summer season. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

Mesotrophic conditions dominate at Pipe Lake: enough nutrients for a healthy fishery, not so much that algal blooms become a chronic problem. A maximum depth of 33 ft puts Pipe Lake in the middle of Minnesota's depth distribution. The lake's 285 acres and 5.9 miles of shoreline put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Pipe Lake ranks 67 of 137 in Cook County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Pipe Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. The state fisheries records do not list documented species for Pipe Lake, which usually reflects a lack of formal fisheries survey work rather than an empty lake. No formal public access is documented at Pipe Lake — most use is by shoreline residents and their guests. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.