Winkle Lake
St. Louis County, MinnesotaView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Winkle Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 29 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Winkle Lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 26.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 4.7 µg/L.
Winkle Lake is a mesotrophic lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 29 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 67 other monitored lakes in St. Louis County, Winkle Lake ranks #63 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-07-20. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Winkle Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Ice seasonIce-out around Apr 30
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 Winkle 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 Winkle Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Winkle Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. Phosphorus 26.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 4.7 µg/L. TSI 49.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | No reading How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. | |
| Total phosphorus | 26.5µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 4.7µg/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. | 49 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Winkle Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~29 ft est.
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 Winkle Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
27 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
0.9 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,375 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
- LeoraPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
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Stays near Winkle Lake
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Fishing Winkle Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Worsening6 years
Phosphorus
Improving-2.91 µg/L/yr6 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.29 µg/L/yr6 years
Ice season
Typical ice-out
Apr 30
Earliest Apr 20, 2019 · Latest May 3, 2022
Most recent ice-out
Apr 30
2023
7 observations · Minnesota PCA ice records
Nearby Lakes in St. Louis County
Frequently asked questions about Winkle Lake
Where is Winkle Lake?
- Winkle Lake is a lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Winkle Lake?
- Winkle Lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 26.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 4.7 µg/L.
Is Winkle Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Winkle Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Winkle Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 29 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
When does Winkle Lake thaw?
- Winkle Lake typically has ice-out around Apr 30.
Are there boat ramps on Winkle Lake?
- Winkle Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Leora. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Winkle Lake?
- Winkle 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
12 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA12 samples · 2020–2025
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Two Reagent Colorimetry
- Phosphorus by 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
Ice data from Minnesota DNR Climate