Toe Lake

The LakeGrade rubric puts Toe Lake at a C: clarity at 7.0 ft, phosphorus readings still being added, and a TSI of 49 signal an intermediate trophic state. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

Mesotrophic conditions dominate at Toe Lake: enough nutrients for a healthy fishery, not so much that algal blooms become a chronic problem. The lake's 95 ft maximum depth is in the upper tier for Minnesota — deep enough for cold-water fish to find refuge in summer. At 122 acres, Toe Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 4.5 miles of shoreline. Within the 142 graded lakes of Lake County, Toe Lake sits at rank 113, near the bottom of the county list.

No invasive species are currently listed at Toe Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. The state fisheries records do not list documented species for Toe Lake, which usually reflects a lack of formal fisheries survey work rather than an empty lake. The lake lacks a documented public access point, so visitor use is limited. 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.