Smith Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Smith Lake pulls an A: clarity at 15.0 ft and phosphorus readings still being added put it in the top bracket for Minnesota. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

Trophically, Smith Lake reads as oligotrophic — nutrient-poor, clear, and ecologically more sensitive to disturbance than richer lakes. At 51 ft of maximum depth, Smith Lake stratifies reliably through the summer — the hypolimnion stays cooler and clearer than the surface layer suggests. At 193 acres, Smith Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 5.0 miles of shoreline. Among the 187 graded lakes in St. Louis County, Smith Lake ranks 8 — in the top quartile locally.

No invasive species are currently listed at Smith Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. Walleye are documented at Smith Lake, one of 12 fish species on record for the lake. No formal public access is documented at Smith Lake — most use is by shoreline residents and their guests. 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.