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LakeQuality

Rose Lake

St. Louis County, Minnesota59 acresView mapDirections

Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Rose Lake. Here is what has been measured.

Phosphorus
17.5 µg/L
Typical for Minnesota
Measured by Minnesota PCA
Chlorophyll-a
3 µg/L
Less algae than most
Measured by Minnesota PCA
Max depth
31 ft
Bathymetric survey
Area
59 acres
Surface area
Type
Mesotrophic
Trophic class
Trend
Worsening
6 years of samples
  • Mesotrophic
  • 31 ft max depth
  • Limited data

Rose Lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 17.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3 µg/L. Maximum depth: 31 ft. Surface area: 58.9 acres.

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on August 8, 1991 caught 0.75 walleye per gill net at Rose Lake. DNR survey details →

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Rose Lake is a 59-acre mesotrophic lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 31 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. No public access — the lake is private or restricted. Compared to the 67 other monitored lakes in St. Louis County, Rose Lake ranks #13 for water quality.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-07-20. Methodology: how these readings are compared.

What Rose Lake is good for

From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.

  • Ice seasonIce-out around Apr 30
  • Deep water31 ft surveyed max depth

Swimming conditions

Readings only

Limited data

Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.

Whether Rose 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.

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Water quality measurements for Rose Lake

These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Rose Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.

No clarity data. Phosphorus 17.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 3 µg/L. TSI 43.

Water quality readings
MeasureReadingWhere it sits
Water clarity (Secchi depth)No reading

How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer.

Total phosphorus17.5µg/LGood
GoodFairPoor
Chlorophyll-a (algae)3µg/LGood
GoodFairPoor
Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a.43Mesotrophic
OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic

Moderate nutrients, good water quality

Ask about Rose Lake

Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.

DNR fisheries survey

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on August 8, 1991 caught 0.75 walleye per gill net at Rose Lake.

A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Rose Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.

DNR Fisheries Survey Summary

2 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 1991-08-08 (Standard Survey).

2 surveys on file · most recent 1991-08-08 (Standard Survey)

35 years old
SpeciesCatch rate (CPUE)SizeAvg weight
Yellow Perch
13.00
0.13 lb
Northern Pike
2.63
5.08 lb
Bluegill
1.63
0.4 lb
White Sucker
1.50
2.23 lb
Largemouth Bass
0.88
0.31 lb
Walleye
0.75
3.53 lb

CPUE = catch per unit effort, fish caught per net per set in a standardised survey. It measures abundance, not size, and is not a weekly bite report.

From the 1991-08-08 survey

WAE POPULATION IS WELL BELOW STATE AND LOCAL AVERAGES. SPAWNING AREAS ARE NOT PRESENT. PRESENT WAE POPULATION IS NOT REPRESENTED BY THE 1988 FINGERLING STOCKING (4/LB) AND IS LIKELY THE RESULT OF STOCKING BY RESIDENTS (PERSONNEL COMMUNICATION). SOME LARGE NOP ARE PRESENT, HOWEVER, LACK OF SPAWNING AREAS KEEP…

Source: MN DNR LakeFinder Fisheries Lake Survey

DNR Reports & Resources

Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Rose Lake. 1 report on file.

These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).

Lake Details

Max depth

31 ft

Surface area

59 acres

Shoreline

1.3 mi

Littoral zone

58%

Share shallower than 15 ft

Public access

No

Listed by Minnesota PCA

Lake Size & Watershed

Watershed (drainage) area

1 sq mi

HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS

Elevation

1,371 ft

Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS).

Stays via Stay22

Stays near Rose Lake

Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Rose Lake in St. Louis 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 Rose Lake

Prices for Oct 9–11, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.

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Follow Rose Lake’s readings

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Fishing Rose Lake

Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).

  • Water clarity

    Worsening

    6 years

  • Phosphorus

    Improving

    -2.91 µg/L/yr6 years

  • Chlorophyll-a

    Worsening

    +0.29 µg/L/yr6 years

See year-by-year chart →

Ice season

Typical ice-out

Apr 30

Earliest Apr 24, 2019 · Latest May 1, 2018

Most recent ice-out

Apr 24

2019

4 observations · Minnesota PCA ice records

Nearby Lakes in St. Louis County

Frequently asked questions about Rose Lake

Where is Rose Lake?

Rose Lake is a lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.

What is the water quality of Rose Lake?

Rose Lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 17.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3 µg/L. Maximum depth: 31 ft. Surface area: 58.9 acres.

Measurements on this page ↑

Is Rose Lake safe to swim in?

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.

Swimming on this page ↑

How deep is Rose Lake?

Rose Lake has a maximum depth of 31 feet. The lake covers 58.9 acres.

What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Rose Lake?

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on August 8, 1991 caught 0.75 walleye per gill net at Rose Lake. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Rose Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.

DNR on this page ↑

When does Rose Lake thaw?

Rose Lake typically has ice-out around Apr 30.

Can I fish at Rose Lake?

Public access to Rose 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.

Mesotrophic Lakes in Minnesota

Where this data comes from

12 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.

Collected and reported by

  • Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface WaterMNPCA12 samples · 2020–2025

Analytical methods

  • Phosphorus by Two Reagent Colorimetry
  • Phosphorus by Colorimetry
  • 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
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

Ice data from Minnesota DNR Climate