Star Lake

Star Lake earns a D — measurements through 2024 show persistent nutrient pressure that limits clarity through the summer. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

A TSI above 70 puts Star Lake in hypereutrophic territory: visible blooms are common, and clarity rarely climbs even in early summer. The lake bottoms out at 15 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. Star Lake covers 553 acres alongside 9.6 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Within Meeker County's 23 graded lakes, Star Lake ranks 15 — below the local median, though not at the bottom.

No invasive species are currently listed at Star Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. Walleye are documented at Star Lake, one of 10 fish species on record for the lake. A documented public access point at Star Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. The lake has a long ice-out record — 34 observations on file, with a median ice-out around Apr 5. 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.