Placid Lake
Crow Wing County, Minnesota183 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Placid Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- 39 ft max depth
Placid Lake in Crow Wing County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 17 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 11 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.2 µg/L. Maximum depth: 39 ft. Surface area: 183.44 acres.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 13, 1988 caught 0.67 walleye per gill net at Placid Lake. DNR survey details →
Placid Lake is a 183-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Crow Wing County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 39 feet. Phosphorus level is improving over recent sampling years. 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, Placid Lake ranks #36 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-09-02. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Placid Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water17 ft of visibility
- Ice seasonIce-out around Apr 17
- Deep water39 ft surveyed max depth
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLow 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 Placid 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 Placid Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Placid Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Crystal clear, you can see 17 ft down. Phosphorus 11 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 3.2 µg/L. TSI 39.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 17ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 11µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 3.2µg/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. | 39 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Placid Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Placid Lake typically sits around 58°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 74°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 75°F) and coldest in May (about 58°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (58°F) to its warmest (75°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 63 field readings (2017–2025) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Placid Lake water temperature breakdown →
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 13, 1988 caught 0.67 walleye per gill net at Placid Lake.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Placid Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is stable. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
2 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 1988-06-13 (Standard Survey).
2 surveys on file · most recent 1988-06-13 (Standard Survey)
38 years old| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | 79.64 | 0.11 lb | |
| Yellow Bullhead | 40.00 | 0.31 lb | |
| Hybrid Sunfish | 27.50 | 0.21 lb | |
| Black Crappie | 8.73 | 0.3 lb | |
| Northern Pike | 5.42 | 1.49 lb | |
| Pumpkinseed | 2.28 | 0.16 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.
From the 1988-06-13 survey
Northern pike and bluegill net catches indicated above average populations. These species catch rates exceed the third quartile of the Brainerd Area median for group 1 lakes that are less than 230 acres with a total alkalinity of less than 47.6. Yellow bullhead, hybrid sunfish, pumpkinseed and black crappie exhibited…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Placid Lake. 2 reports on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — PlacidFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Aquatic Plant Report — Placid (0049)Aquatic Plant Report · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
39 ft
Surface area
183 acres
Shoreline
4.7 mi
Littoral zone
73%
Share shallower than 15 ft
Public access
No
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,263 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS).
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Placid Lake
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Top-rated places to stay near Placid Lake
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Follow Placid Lake’s readings
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Fishing Placid Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Stable6 years
Phosphorus
Improving-0.34 µg/L/yr6 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.24 µg/L/yr6 years
Ice season
Typical ice-out
Apr 17
Earliest Apr 7, 2007 · Latest May 1, 2022
Typical ice-in
Dec 1
Earliest Dec 1, 2022 · Latest Dec 15, 2004
Most recent ice-out
Apr 8
2025
13 observations · Minnesota PCA ice records
Nearby Lakes in Crow Wing County
Frequently asked questions about Placid Lake
Where is Placid Lake?
- Placid 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 Placid Lake?
- Placid Lake in Crow Wing County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 17 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 11 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.2 µg/L. Maximum depth: 39 ft. Surface area: 183.44 acres.
Is Placid Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Placid Lake?
- Placid Lake typically sits around 58°F at the surface in October, from 63 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2017–2025). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Placid Lake?
- Placid Lake has a maximum depth of 39 feet. The lake covers 183.44 acres.
What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Placid Lake?
- Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 13, 1988 caught 0.67 walleye per gill net at Placid Lake. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Placid Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is stable. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
When does Placid Lake thaw?
- Placid Lake typically has ice-out around Apr 17. Ice typically forms around Dec 1. The open water season is approximately 228 days.
Can I fish at Placid Lake?
- Public access to Placid 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.
Explore Placid Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
134 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
MNPCA134 samples · 2020–2025
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
Ice data from Minnesota DNR Climate