Spike Lake
Clearwater County, Minnesota80 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Spike Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 31 ft max depth
- Public access
Spike Lake in Clearwater County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 24 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 7.7 µg/L. Surface area: 80 acres.
Spike Lake is a 80-acre mesotrophic lake in Clearwater County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 31 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available. Compared to the 36 other monitored lakes in Clearwater County, Spike Lake ranks #32 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-09-09. 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 Spike 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 Spike Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Spike Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Moderate clarity, visible to about 8.5 ft. Phosphorus 24 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 7.7 µg/L. TSI 49.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 8.5ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 24µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 7.7µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 49 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Spike Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Spike Lake typically sits around 56°F at the surface in September. Summer average is about 56°F. Usually warmest in Jun (about 57°F) and coldest in May (about 49°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (49°F) to its warmest (57°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 125 field readings (2022–2025) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Spike Lake water temperature breakdown →
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Spike Lake. 2 reports on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Aquatic Plant Report — Spike (1705)Aquatic Plant Report · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Public Water Access Sites — SpikePublic Water Access Sites · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
~31 ft est.
Surface area
80 acres
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 Spike Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
6 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,243 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 Spike Lake
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Fishing Spike 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
Improving3 years
Phosphorus
Improving-2.79 µg/L/yr3 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-0.72 µg/L/yr3 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Spike Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Spike Lake (completed 1938), built primarily for fish and wildlife pond on the Clearwater River; gravity-type dam, 8 ft tall and 11 ft long.
- Surface area
- 80 ac
- Normal storage
- 213 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,123 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 17 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- MNDNR
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MN01292 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Clearwater County
Frequently asked questions about Spike Lake
Where is Spike Lake?
- Spike Lake is a lake in Clearwater County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Spike Lake?
- Spike Lake in Clearwater County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 24 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 7.7 µg/L. Surface area: 80 acres.
Is Spike 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 Spike Lake?
- Spike Lake typically sits around 56°F at the surface in September, from 125 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2022–2025). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Spike Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Spike Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 31 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 80 acres.
Can I fish at Spike Lake?
- Public access to Spike Lake is listed as yes on the lake record. 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 Spike Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
39 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
MNPCA39 samples · 2022–2025
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder