Prairie Lake
Itasca County, MinnesotaView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Prairie Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 35 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Prairie Lake in Itasca County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.4 ft visibility.
Prairie Lake is a lake in Itasca County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 35 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-10-09. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Prairie Lake has one public boat landing. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Prairie Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Prairie Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Prairie Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Prairie 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 Prairie Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Prairie Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 4.4 ft. TSI 56.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 4.4ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading 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. | 56 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Prairie Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Prairie Lake typically sits around 60°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 71°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 73°F) and coldest in May (about 57°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (57°F) to its warmest (73°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 94 field readings (2016–2025) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Prairie Lake water temperature breakdown →
Blue-Green Algae (Cyanobacteria)
There’s no recent EPA CyAN cyanobacteria estimate for Prairie Lake — clouds, ice, or an off-season gap in coverage. The most recent reading was high (143,219 cells/mL) on September 20, 2025.
Blue-green algae can appear and clear within days, so check your state’s current advisory before swimming. EPA CyAN ↗
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Prairie Lake. 2 reports on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Aquatic Plant Report — Prairie (main bay) (0594)Aquatic Plant Report · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Public Water Access Sites — Prairie (main bay)Public Water Access Sites · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
~35 ft est.
Public access
Yes
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 Prairie Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
502 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
969 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
11.1 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,283 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.
Recreation & Access
- Prairie Lake (West)Public
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Prairie Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Prairie Lake in Itasca County, Minnesota — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water.
Top-rated places to stay near Prairie Lake
Prices for Oct 9–11, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
Planning a whole trip? See where to stay at Minnesota’s top lakes →
Follow Prairie Lake’s readings
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Fishing Prairie Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Worsening6 years
EPA Impairment Status
Prairie Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MN31-0384-02 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Itasca County
Frequently asked questions about Prairie Lake
Where is Prairie Lake?
- Prairie Lake is a lake in Itasca County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Prairie Lake?
- Prairie Lake in Itasca County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.4 ft visibility.
Is Prairie Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Prairie Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Prairie Lake?
- Prairie Lake typically sits around 60°F at the surface in October, from 94 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2016–2025). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Prairie Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Prairie Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 35 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Does Prairie Lake have blue-green algae?
- There is no recent EPA CyAN cyanobacteria estimate for Prairie Lake (clouds, ice, or an off-season gap). The most recent reading was high (143,219 cells/mL). Blue-green algae can appear and clear within days, so check Minnesota's current advisory before swimming.
Are there boat ramps on Prairie Lake?
- Prairie Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Prairie Lake (West). Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Prairie Lake?
- Prairie Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. 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 Prairie Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
127 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA127 samples · 2020–2025
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
Monitoring station identifiers (2)
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
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory