Porcupine Lake
Aitkin County, MinnesotaView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Porcupine Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 44 ft max depth
- Limited data
Porcupine Lake in Aitkin County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 51 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 7.5 µg/L.
Porcupine Lake is a lake in Aitkin County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 44 feet. The lake supports 6 documented fish species including black bullhead, black crappie, and bluegill. No public access — the lake is private or restricted.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2022-06-30. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Porcupine Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Fishing6 species recorded
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Porcupine 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 Porcupine Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Porcupine Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 1.5 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 51 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 7.5 µg/L. TSI 61.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.5ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 51µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 7.5µg/L | Measured, not scored 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. | 61 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Porcupine Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Porcupine Lake. 1 report on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Aquatic Plant Report — Porcupine (0042)Aquatic Plant Report · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
~44 ft est.
Public access
No
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Minnesota has not published bathymetry for Porcupine Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
2 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
42 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.1 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,253 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
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Fish Species
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Fishing Porcupine Lake
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Frequently asked questions about Porcupine Lake
Where is Porcupine Lake?
- Porcupine Lake is a lake in Aitkin County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Porcupine Lake?
- Porcupine Lake in Aitkin County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 51 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 7.5 µg/L.
Is Porcupine Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Porcupine Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Porcupine Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 44 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
What fish are in Porcupine Lake?
- Fish species found in Porcupine Lake include black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, northern pike, pumpkinseed, yellow perch. Porcupine Lake is located in Aitkin County, Minnesota.
Can I fish at Porcupine Lake?
- Public access to Porcupine 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.
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Where this data comes from
5 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA5 samples · 2022
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
- 2120 B ~ Color in Water by Visual Comparison
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