Ripple Lake

Ripple Lake earns a D — measurements through 2024 show persistent nutrient pressure that limits clarity through the summer.

A TSI in the eutrophic range signals a lake doing what nutrient-loaded waters do — supporting an active algal community at the cost of clear water. Ripple Lake reaches 39 ft at its deepest point — typical for Minnesota mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. The lake's 630 acres and 8.9 miles of shoreline put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Ripple Lake ranks 49 of 53 in Aitkin County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

Ripple Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2024, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. Walleye are documented at Ripple Lake, one of 17 fish species on record for the lake. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. Ice-out has been recorded 10 times at Ripple Lake, with a median around Apr 25. Monitoring depth is thin here: the LakeGrade rubric is applied to a small number of sample years, and the grade will be revised as more data accumulates.