Silver Lake
Mille Lacs County, MinnesotaView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Silver Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 26 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Silver Lake in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1 ft visibility.
Silver Lake is a lake in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 26 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. The lake supports 10 documented fish species including black bullhead, black crappie, and bluegill. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-09-23. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Silver Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Fishing10 species recorded
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Silver 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 Silver Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Silver Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 1 ft of visibility. TSI 77.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 77 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Silver Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Silver Lake. 2 reports on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Aquatic Plant Report — Silver (0299)Aquatic Plant Report · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Public Water Access Sites — SilverPublic Water Access Sites · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
~26 ft est.
Public access
Yes
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Minnesota has not published bathymetry for Silver Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
9 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
124 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
951 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Recreation & Access
- Silver LakePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
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Stays near Silver Lake
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Silver Lake
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2022–2025). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening3 years
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
1 EPA-permitted facility operate within about 5 miles of Silver Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits, including 1 classified by the EPA as major discharger. 1 facility has a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Princeton WwtpPrinceton · 1.8 mi away · NPDES MN0024538MajorRecent violation
Facilities permitted to discharge under the Clean Water Act within ~5 miles; proximity does not by itself mean a facility affects this lake. Source: EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES), as of 2026-07.
Nearby Lakes in Mille Lacs County
Frequently asked questions about Silver Lake
Where is Silver Lake?
- Silver Lake is a lake in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Silver Lake?
- Silver Lake in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1 ft visibility.
Is Silver Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Silver Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Silver Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 26 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
What fish are in Silver Lake?
- Fish species found in Silver Lake include black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, common carp, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, white sucker, yellow perch. Silver Lake is located in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota.
Are there boat ramps on Silver Lake?
- Silver Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Silver Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Silver Lake?
- Silver Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. 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.
Explore Silver Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
21 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2022–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA21 samples · 2022–2025
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory