Simon Lake
Pope County, MinnesotaView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Simon Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 43 ft max depth
Simon Lake in Pope County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 109.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 53.4 µg/L.
Simon Lake is a highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Pope County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 43 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 19 other monitored lakes in Pope County, Simon Lake ranks #20 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-09-22. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyRecreation use not supported
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. Simon Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Simon 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 Simon Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Simon 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 1.3 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 109.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 53.4 µg/L. TSI 72.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 110µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 53.4µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 72 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Simon 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 Simon Lake. 2 reports on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Aquatic Plant Report — Simon (0776)Aquatic Plant Report · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Fish Stocking History — SimonFish Stocking History · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
~43 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 Simon Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
6 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
497 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,073 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 Simon Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Simon Lake in Pope 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. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Simon Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Simon Lake
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Fishing Simon Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Worsening6 years
Phosphorus
Improving-4.37 µg/L/yr6 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+5.46 µg/L/yr6 years
EPA Impairment Status
Simon Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MN61-0034-00 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Pope County
Frequently asked questions about Simon Lake
Where is Simon Lake?
- Simon Lake is a lake in Pope County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Simon Lake?
- Simon Lake in Pope County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 109.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 53.4 µg/L.
Is Simon Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Simon Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Simon Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Simon Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 43 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 Simon Lake?
- Public access to Simon 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
90 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA90 samples · 2020–2025
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
- Phosphorus by Two Reagent Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
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
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder