Swan Lake

Swan Lake earns an A — every scored parameter (clarity and phosphorus) rates among the best monitored waters in Itasca County. The two scored sub-grades — clarity and phosphorus — track close together, so neither one is dragging the average down.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Minnesota lakes fall. Swan Lake is unusually deep for Minnesota at 65 ft, which buffers the lake against summer warming and helps the deep water stay oxygenated. With 2,456 acres of surface and 17.5 miles of shoreline, Swan Lake is a large water by Minnesota standards — recreational pressure is spread across a long shoreline. Swan Lake ranks 44 of 141 in Itasca County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

Swan 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 among the lake's 17 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. Ice-out has been recorded 6 times at Swan Lake, with a median around Apr 26. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.