Watkins Lake
Waseca County, Minnesota134 acresView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Watkins Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 33 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Watkins Lake in Waseca County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.2 ft visibility. Surface area: 134 acres.
Watkins Lake is a 134-acre lake in Waseca County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 33 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2023-06-12. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Watkins Lake covers about 130 acres in Waseca County. It has one public boat landing. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Watkins Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Watkins Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Watkins 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 Watkins Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Watkins Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 3.2 ft of visibility. TSI 60.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.2ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 60 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Watkins Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Watkins Lake. 1 report on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Public Water Access Sites — WatkinsPublic Water Access Sites · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
~33 ft est.
Surface area
134 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Minnesota has not published bathymetry for Watkins Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
0 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,102 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Recreation & Access
- Moonan Wildlife Management Area #2 (Blowers Park)Public
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Watkins Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Watkins Lake in Waseca 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 Watkins Lake
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Fishing Watkins Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2022–2023). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Watkins Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Watkins Lake (completed 1938), built primarily for recreation on the Crane Creek; gravity-type dam, 7 ft tall.
- Surface area
- 134 ac
- Normal storage
- 148 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,000 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 31.5 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Undetermined
- Owner
- MNDNR
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MN00881 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Waseca County
Frequently asked questions about Watkins Lake
Where is Watkins Lake?
- Watkins Lake is a lake in Waseca County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Watkins Lake?
- Watkins Lake in Waseca County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.2 ft visibility. Surface area: 134 acres.
Is Watkins Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Watkins Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Watkins Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 33 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 134 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Watkins Lake?
- Watkins Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Moonan Wildlife Management Area #2 (Blowers Park). Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Watkins Lake?
- Watkins 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.
Explore Watkins Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
17 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2022–2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA17 samples · 2022–2023
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
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