Tarry Lake

On the LakeGrade scale Tarry Lake grades a B, with clarity at 13.0 ft and phosphorus readings still being added placing it above the Minnesota median. Sub-grades cluster within a single letter of each other, which usually means the lake is in stable trophic balance rather than fighting one specific stressor.

A TSI near 40 places Tarry Lake in the mesotrophic band — moderate productivity, with seasonal swings between clearer spring water and richer late-summer conditions. The lake's 66 ft maximum depth is in the upper tier for Minnesota — deep enough for cold-water fish to find refuge in summer. At 244 acres, Tarry Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 9.1 miles of shoreline. Among the 128 graded lakes in Cook County, Tarry Lake sits at rank 61, above the county median.

Tarry Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2022, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The lake's fish records list 3 species — a varied community without one dominant gamefish. No formal public access is documented at Tarry Lake — most use is by shoreline residents and their guests. 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.