Star Lake

Star Lake earns an A — water clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate among the best monitored waters in Otter Tail County. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

A TSI value of 39 puts Star Lake in the oligotrophic range, where biological productivity stays low and the water column remains clear. Star Lake is unusually deep for Minnesota at 94 ft, which buffers the lake against summer warming and helps the deep water stay oxygenated. Star Lake covers 4,486 acres alongside 33.7 miles of shoreline, large enough that conditions can vary meaningfully between bays. Among the 97 graded lakes in Otter Tail County, Star Lake ranks 5 — in the top quartile locally.

Star Lake is on the Minnesota infested-waters list for zebra mussels — boaters should follow clean-drain-dry protocols when moving gear to or from the lake. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 17 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. The lake has a long ice-out record — 25 observations on file, with a median ice-out around Apr 16. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.