Vermont Lake

Vermont Lake earns an A — water clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate among the best monitored waters in Douglas County. 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 value of 40 puts Vermont Lake in the oligotrophic range, where biological productivity stays low and the water column remains clear. At 59 ft of maximum depth, Vermont Lake stratifies reliably through the summer — the hypolimnion stays cooler and clearer than the surface layer suggests. At 342 acres, Vermont Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 6.5 miles of shoreline. Vermont Lake ranks 16 of 51 in Douglas County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

Vermont 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 alongside the lake's other 11 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. A documented public access point at Vermont Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. Ice-out has been recorded 6 times at Vermont Lake, with a median around Apr 11. 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.