Sand Lake

Sand Lake sits at the top of the Minnesota PCA grading rubric with an A, a mark reached by the cleanest lakes in Minnesota. Sub-grades cluster within a single letter of each other, which usually means the lake is in stable trophic balance rather than fighting one specific stressor.

The lake's low TSI puts it in oligotrophic territory — the cleanest of the four trophic classes, but also the most vulnerable to nutrient-driven shifts. Sand Lake is unusually deep for Minnesota at 54 ft, which buffers the lake against summer warming and helps the deep water stay oxygenated. Sand Lake covers 149 acres alongside 2.0 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Among the 133 graded lakes in Cass County, Sand Lake ranks 5 — in the top quartile locally.

No invasive species are currently listed at Sand Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 12 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. The lake lacks a documented public access point, so visitor use is limited. Ice-out has been recorded 8 times at Sand Lake, with a median around May 2. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.