Poplar Lake

Poplar Lake earns an A — water clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate among the best monitored waters in Cook County. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Minnesota lakes fall. The lake bottoms out at 30 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. At 23 acres, Poplar Lake sits below the Minnesota median: a small water where shoreline activity has an outsized effect on water quality. Within Cook County's 128 graded waters, Poplar Lake sits at rank 32, near the top of the local distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Poplar Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. The lake's fish records list 3 species — a varied community without one dominant gamefish. No formal public access is documented at Poplar 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.