Round Lake

On the LakeGrade scale Round Lake grades a B, with clarity at 14.5 ft and phosphorus readings still being added placing it above the Minnesota median.

A TSI value of 39 puts Round Lake in the oligotrophic range, where biological productivity stays low and the water column remains clear. The lake bottoms out at 27 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. The lake's 554 acres and 3.7 miles of shoreline put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Among the 53 graded lakes in Aitkin County, Round Lake ranks 9 — in the top quartile locally.

No invasive species are currently listed at Round Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. The fishery includes walleye among the lake's 11 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. Ice-out has been recorded 16 times at Round Lake, with a median around Apr 15. 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.