Ryan Lake

On the scoring rubric Ryan Lake grades a D: clarity at 5.6 ft and phosphorus readings still being added keep it in the lower bracket for Hennepin County. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

At a TSI of 52, Ryan Lake reads as eutrophic — nutrient-rich enough that summer algal growth and reduced clarity are expected, not unusual. A maximum depth of 36 ft puts Ryan Lake in the middle of Minnesota's depth distribution. Ryan Lake is small — 19 acres alongside 0.9 miles of shoreline — which makes it sensitive to even modest changes in watershed runoff or recreational pressure. Within Hennepin County's 95 graded lakes, Ryan Lake ranks 49 — below the local median, though not at the bottom.

Ryan Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2021, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 12, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. No formal public access is documented at Ryan Lake — most use is by shoreline residents and their guests. Ice-out has been recorded 6 times at Ryan Lake, with a median around Apr 3. 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.