Simian Lake
St. Louis County, MinnesotaView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Simian Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 33 ft max depth
Simian Lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 33 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 5.5 µg/L.
Simian Lake is a productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 33 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. No public access — the lake is private or restricted. Compared to the 67 other monitored lakes in St. Louis County, Simian Lake ranks #53 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2024-10-03. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyModerate algae
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 Simian 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 Simian Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Simian Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 3.9 ft. Phosphorus 33 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 5.5 µg/L. TSI 53.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 33µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 5.5µg/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. | 53 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Simian Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Simian Lake typically sits around 54°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 66°F. Usually warmest in Aug (about 67°F) and coldest in May (about 52°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (52°F) to its warmest (67°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 126 field readings (2010–2021) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Simian Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~33 ft est.
Public access
No
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 Simian Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
15 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
64 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.3 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,250 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.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Simian Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Simian Lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water.
Top-rated places to stay near Simian Lake
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Fishing Simian Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Improving5 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+23.35 µg/L/yr4 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+1.02 µg/L/yr5 years
Nearby Lakes in St. Louis County
Frequently asked questions about Simian Lake
Where is Simian Lake?
- Simian Lake is a lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Simian Lake?
- Simian Lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 33 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 5.5 µg/L.
Is Simian 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 Simian Lake?
- Simian Lake typically sits around 54°F at the surface in October, from 126 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2010–2021). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Simian Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Simian Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 33 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Can I fish at Simian Lake?
- Public access to Simian 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.
Explore Simian Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
203 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa (MN)
FONDULAC_WQX203 samples · 2020–2024
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Two Reagent Colorimetry
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H 2 ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination by spectrophotometer
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- Color, APHA Platinum-Cobalt
- For determination of Copper by the Bicinchoninate 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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder