Trestle Lake
Itasca County, Minnesota111 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Trestle Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- 35 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Trestle Lake in Itasca County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 14.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 11.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.9 µg/L. Maximum depth: 35 ft. Surface area: 111.26 acres.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 17, 2023 caught 7.00 northern pike per gill net at Trestle Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 15–31 inches. DNR survey details →
Trestle Lake is a 111-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Itasca County, Minnesota with a maximum depth of 35 feet. The lake supports 7 documented fish species including black crappie, bluegill, and hybrid sunfish. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 71 other monitored lakes in Itasca County, Trestle Lake ranks #25 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2020-09-29. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Trestle Lake covers about 110 acres in Itasca County. It has one public boat landing. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Trestle Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Trestle Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water14.8 ft of visibility
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Fishing7 species recorded
- Deep water35 ft surveyed max depth
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Trestle Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota DNR and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Trestle Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Trestle Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Good clarity, visible to about 14.8 ft. Phosphorus 11.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 2.9 µg/L. TSI 40.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 14.8ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 11.5µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 2.9µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 40 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Trestle Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 17, 2023 caught 7.00 northern pike per gill net at Trestle Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 15–31 inches.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Trestle Lake’s water-quality measurements separately. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
4 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2023-07-17 (Standard Survey).
4 surveys on file · most recent 2023-07-17 (Standard Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | 23.36 | 3–7 in 2023-07-17 | 0.15 lb |
| Largemouth Bass | 13.90 | 5–19 in 2023-07-17 | 1.36 lb |
| Northern Pike | 6.52 | 15–31 in 2023-07-17 | 1.96 lb |
| Yellow Perch | 3.32 | 5–6 in 2023-07-17 | 0.13 lb |
| Black Crappie | 3.04 | 4–12 in 2023-07-17 | 0.3 lb |
| Pumpkinseed | 1.96 | 4–5 in 2023-07-17 | 0.21 lb |
CPUE = catch per unit effort, fish caught per net per set in a standardised survey. It measures abundance, not size, and is not a weekly bite report.
Length Distributions
Number of fish caught at each inch class in the most recent survey that recorded lengths. Red dashed line marks an approximate trophy threshold for that species.
Bluegill
Largemouth Bass
Northern Pike
Yellow Perch
From the 2023-07-17 survey
Trestle Lake (also known as Fox Lake) is located 8 miles northwest of Talmoon, MN in the Big Fork River watershed. The mostly undeveloped lake has a surface area of 96 acres and a maximum depth of 35 feet. Secchi disk transparency was 18 feet in the most recent survey. The lake has no inlets and an unnamed,…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Trestle Lake. 3 reports on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — TrestleFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Aquatic Plant Report — Trestle (0691)Aquatic Plant Report · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Public Water Access Sites — TrestlePublic Water Access Sites · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
35 ft
Surface area
111 acres
Shoreline
2.2 mi
Littoral zone
29%
Share shallower than 15 ft
Public access
Yes
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
0 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,358 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS).
Recreation & Access
- Trestle LakePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Trestle Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Trestle Lake in Itasca County, Minnesota — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water.
Top-rated places to stay near Trestle Lake
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Fish Species
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Fishing Trestle Lake
Nearby Lakes in Itasca County
Frequently asked questions about Trestle Lake
Where is Trestle Lake?
- Trestle Lake is a lake in Itasca County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Trestle Lake?
- Trestle Lake in Itasca County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 14.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 11.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.9 µg/L. Maximum depth: 35 ft. Surface area: 111.26 acres.
Is Trestle Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Trestle Lake?
- Trestle Lake has a maximum depth of 35 feet. The lake covers 111.26 acres.
What fish are in Trestle Lake?
- Fish species found in Trestle Lake include black crappie, bluegill, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, yellow perch. Trestle Lake is located in Itasca County, Minnesota.
What did the DNR fisheries survey find at Trestle Lake?
- Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 17, 2023 caught 7.00 northern pike per gill net at Trestle Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 15–31 inches. A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Trestle Lake’s water-quality measurements separately. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
Are there boat ramps on Trestle Lake?
- Trestle Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Trestle Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Trestle Lake?
- Trestle Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Minnesota's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
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Where this data comes from
15 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA15 samples · 2020
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
- Phosphorus by Two Reagent Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory