Roberds Lake

Roberds Lake grades an F: every scored parameter (clarity and phosphorus) rates poorly, placing it among the most stressed lakes monitored in Minnesota. With clarity and phosphorus scored, the sub-grades cluster within a letter of each other, pointing to stable conditions rather than one specific stressor.

A TSI above 70 puts Roberds Lake in hypereutrophic territory: visible blooms are common, and clarity rarely climbs even in early summer. A maximum depth of 43 ft puts Roberds Lake in the middle of Minnesota's depth distribution. The lake's 632 acres and 5.6 miles of shoreline put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Within Rice County's 12 graded lakes, Roberds Lake ranks 7 — below the local median, though not at the bottom.

Roberds Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2024, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. Muskie are on the species list at Roberds Lake, among the lake's 18 documented fish. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. Ice-out has been logged at Roberds Lake more than two dozen times, putting the median around Apr 3 — a useful baseline for tracking climate trends. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.