Roy Lake
Crow Wing County, Minnesota320 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Roy Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- zebra mussel
- 26 ft max depth
- Limited data
Roy Lake in Crow Wing County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 11.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 11 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.5 µg/L. Maximum depth: 26 ft. Surface area: 319.67 acres.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 9, 2025 caught 0.33 walleye per gill net at Roy Lake. DNR survey details →
Roy Lake is a 320-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Crow Wing County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 26 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. The lake supports 16 documented fish species including black crappie, bluegill, and bowfin (dogfish). No public access — the lake is private or restricted. Compared to the 84 other monitored lakes in Crow Wing County, Roy Lake ranks #21 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-10-19. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Roy Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water11.7 ft of visibility
- Fishing16 species recorded
- Ice seasonIce-out around Apr 10
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited 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 Roy 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.
Water quality measurements for Roy Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Roy Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Good clarity, visible to about 11.7 ft. Phosphorus 11 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 2.5 µg/L. TSI 40.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 11.7ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 11µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 2.5µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 40 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Roy Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Roy Lake typically sits around 60°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 73°F. Usually warmest in Aug (about 77°F) and coldest in May (about 48°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (48°F) to its warmest (77°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 11 field readings (2025–2025) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Roy Lake water temperature breakdown →
Blue-Green Algae (Cyanobacteria)
There’s no recent EPA CyAN cyanobacteria estimate for Roy Lake — clouds, ice, or an off-season gap in coverage. The most recent reading was moderate (89,536 cells/mL) on May 9, 2026.
Blue-green algae can appear and clear within days, so check your state’s current advisory before swimming. EPA CyAN ↗
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 9, 2025 caught 0.33 walleye per gill net at Roy Lake.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Roy 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
8 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2025-06-09 (Standard Survey).
8 surveys on file · most recent 2025-06-09 (Standard Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | 24.16 | 2–8 in 2025-06-09 | 0.11 lb |
| Bluntnose Minnow | 10.63 | ||
| Northern Pike | 7.20 | 10–33 in 2025-06-09 | 2.71 lb |
| Green Sunfish | 6.80 | 6 in 2013-06-10 | 0.15 lb |
| Pumpkinseed | 5.85 | 3–7 in 2025-06-09 | 0.16 lb |
| Yellow Bullhead | 5.39 | 9–14 in 2025-06-09 | 0.72 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.
Length Distributions
Number of fish caught at each inch class in the most recent survey that recorded lengths. Red dashed line marks an approximate trophy threshold for that species.
Bluegill
Northern Pike
Green Sunfish
Pumpkinseed
From the 2025-06-09 survey
Roy is a small 320 acre lake that is part of the Gull Chain of Lakes and can be accessed through channels from Nisswa Lake and Spider Lake. Roy receives plenty of recreational traffic as boats navigate between Gull and Nisswa Lakes. A special regulation enacted in 2024 requires the immediate release of all Northern…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Roy Lake. 1 report on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — RoyFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
26 ft
Surface area
320 acres
Shoreline
5.7 mi
Littoral zone
40%
Share shallower than 15 ft
Public access
No
Listed by Minnesota PCA
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Stays near Roy Lake
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Roy Lake
Invasive & Introduced Species
Red chips are ecologically harmful invasive species. Gray chips are stocked or introduced fish that aren't a current ecological concern.
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Worsening6 years
Ice season
Typical ice-out
Apr 10
Earliest Mar 14, 2024 · Latest May 4, 2022
Most recent ice-out
Apr 10
2025
5 observations · Minnesota PCA ice records
Nearby Lakes in Crow Wing County
Frequently asked questions about Roy Lake
Where is Roy Lake?
- Roy Lake is a lake in Crow Wing County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Roy Lake?
- Roy Lake in Crow Wing County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 11.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 11 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.5 µg/L. Maximum depth: 26 ft. Surface area: 319.67 acres.
Is Roy Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Roy Lake?
- Roy Lake typically sits around 60°F at the surface in October, from 11 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2025–2025). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Roy Lake?
- Roy Lake has a maximum depth of 26 feet. The lake covers 319.67 acres.
What fish are in Roy Lake?
- Fish species found in Roy Lake include black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, tullibee (cisco), walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, yellow perch. Roy Lake is located in Crow Wing County, Minnesota.
What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Roy Lake?
- Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 9, 2025 caught 0.33 walleye per gill net at Roy Lake. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Roy 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.
When does Roy Lake thaw?
- Roy Lake typically has ice-out around Apr 10.
Does Roy Lake have blue-green algae?
- There is no recent EPA CyAN cyanobacteria estimate for Roy Lake (clouds, ice, or an off-season gap). The most recent reading was moderate (89,536 cells/mL). Blue-green algae can appear and clear within days, so check Minnesota's current advisory before swimming.
Can I fish at Roy Lake?
- Public access to Roy 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.
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Where this data comes from
63 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA63 samples · 2020–2025
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
- Phosphorus by Two Reagent Colorimetry
- 10200 H 2 ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination by spectrophotometer
Monitoring station identifiers (2)
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 details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder
Ice data from Minnesota DNR Climate