Ripley Lake

Ripley Lake sits at a C on the grading scale — not impaired, not pristine, with summer measurements that vary year to year. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

Eutrophic conditions are the baseline here: clarity drops noticeably in late summer, and dissolved oxygen near the bottom can become a concern. The lake bottoms out at 18 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. Ripley Lake covers 614 acres alongside 3.7 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Among the 23 graded lakes in Meeker County, Ripley Lake sits at rank 10, above the county median.

Eurasian watermilfoil has been documented at Ripley Lake, requiring shoreline management to keep dense mats from crowding native vegetation. Walleye are documented at Ripley Lake, one of 12 fish species on record for the lake. A documented public access point at Ripley Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.