Stark Lake

Stark Lake earns a C — middle-of-the-pack water quality, with one or two parameters dragging the average down from a stronger grade.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Minnesota lakes fall. At 66 ft of maximum depth, Stark Lake stratifies reliably through the summer — the hypolimnion stays cooler and clearer than the surface layer suggests. Stark Lake covers 217 acres alongside 3.6 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Within the 120 graded lakes of Crow Wing County, Stark Lake sits at rank 103, near the bottom of the county list.

Stark Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2024, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The fishery includes walleye among the lake's 10 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 partial ice record — 17 observed ice-outs, centered near Apr 10. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.