Round Lake

The LakeGrade rubric puts Round Lake at a C: clarity at 7.5 ft, phosphorus readings still being added, and a TSI of 48 signal an intermediate trophic state. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Minnesota lakes fall. Round Lake reaches 16 ft at its deepest point — typical for Minnesota mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. At 101 acres, Round Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 1.6 miles of shoreline. Round Lake sits at rank 104 of 141 in Itasca County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

Round Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2023, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The state fisheries records do not list documented species for Round Lake, which usually reflects a lack of formal fisheries survey work rather than an empty lake. The lake lacks a documented public access point, so visitor use is limited. The lake has a partial ice record — 11 observed ice-outs, centered near 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.