10 miles east of Palisade
Aitkin County, Minnesota · 46.7599° N, 93.2860° W
Directions to Big Sandy Lake (E) Public Water Access SiteApple Maps
Directions open in Google or Apple Maps, to the Minnesota DNR public access sites (4 listed; this is the first).
Updated 15 Oct 2026, 4:13 pm EDT.
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Minnesota DNR lake survey, fetched 15 Oct 2026. Not for navigation.
4 public access sites on Big Sandy Lake.
Minnesota DNR public water accesses, fetched 15 Oct 2026.
Minnesota DNR’s latest standard fish survey of Big Sandy Lake was in July 2022: 14 gill nets and 20 trap nets caught 16 species. The DNR also ran a targeted survey in October 2025; this section uses the latest standard survey.
Walleye per gill net, standard surveys: 2013 4.7 · 2016 8.8 · 2018 7.9 · 2021 5.3 · 2022 5.7
Bluegill per trap net, standard surveys: 2013 3.8 · 2016 1.1 · 2018 6.3 · 2021 1.2 · 2022 4.0
Walleye: 85 measured, 6 to 21 in, half 12 in or longer; average 0.56 lb, below normal (normal 1.1–1.9 lb).
Northern pike: 85 measured, 9 to 37 in, half 17 in or longer; average 1.4 lb, below normal (normal 1.7–2.8 lb).
Black crappie: 30 measured, 4 to 13 in, half 7 in or longer; average 0.52 lb, normal (normal 0.3–0.6 lb).
Bluegill: 80 measured, 3 to 10 in, half 7 in or longer; average 0.42 lb, above normal (normal 0.1–0.2 lb).
Yellow perch: 172 measured, 4 to 11 in, half 8 in or longer; average 0.3 lb, above normal (normal 0.1–0.2 lb).
Also caught: bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, burbot, channel catfish, shorthead redhorse, silver redhorse, tullibee (cisco), white sucker, yellow bullhead.
Source: Minnesota DNR Fisheries lake survey, 11 Jul 2022, via LakeFinder, fetched 15 Oct 2026. Normal range: DNR’s range for lakes of the same class (43 classes, grouped by water chemistry and shape). Each line has its own scale. How we measure
Measured water clarity averages about 4 ft: the Secchi depth across 140 readings, 2009–2025.
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and volunteer Secchi readings, via Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, fetched 15 Oct 2026.
Minnesota DNR lake survey; straight-line miles.
Big Sandy Lake is 84 feet at its deepest point, measured by Minnesota DNR survey. It covers 6,125 acres.
Yes. 4 public access sites are listed: Big Sandy Lake (E) Public Water Access Site; Big Sandy Lake (N) Public Water Access Site; Big Sandy Lake (S Central) Public Water Access Site; Sandy River, Hwy 65 Public Water Access Site.
Minnesota DNR’s July 2022 standard survey caught 16 species, most often yellow perch, channel catfish, northern pike and walleye.
About 62% of the lake's area is deeper than 10 feet, measured from Minnesota DNR depth contours.