Blue Earth County

The lakes of Blue Earth County

49 lakes · 8,844 acres · 11 with measured depth · 16 with a public access · 13 stocked

Blue Earth County has 49 lakes of 10 acres or more in Minnesota DNR hydrography, 42 of them named, covering 8,844 acres of water. The largest is Madison Lake near Madison Lake (1,447 acres) at 1,447 acres, which is also the deepest measured, at 59 ft. Minnesota DNR has a measured maximum depth for 11 lakes here. The Census counts 18 square miles of water in the county, 2% of its area.

Lake outlines and acres: Minnesota DNR hydrography (lakes, ponds and reservoirs of 10 acres or more, each counted once: a lake mapped in bays as the whole lake, a border water by its Minnesota side; 2 lakes the DNR files under no county are placed here by the Census county line). Depths: Minnesota DNR LakeFinder and lake survey contours, fetched 26 Oct 2026. County line and water area: U.S. Census TIGER. Lake data: Minnesota DNR (General Data and Software License). Not for navigation.

Largest lakes

19 lakes in Blue Earth County cover 100 acres or more. The 12 largest are listed here; the full register of 42 named lakes follows.

Acres: Minnesota DNR hydrography. Nearest town: U.S. Census 2024 Gazetteer. Deepest: Minnesota DNR LakeFinder (the survey's maximum depth, else the deepest survey contour). Clarity: average measured Secchi depth, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and volunteer readings via LakeFinder. Accesses: Minnesota DNR public water access sites. Stocking: Minnesota DNR stocking reports, by year. Fetched 26 Oct 2026.

Lakes that share a name

3 names belong to more than one lake in Blue Earth County, 6 lakes in all. Each belongs to two lakes. Each lake is listed with its nearest town, the way people search for them.

Names: USGS GNIS and Minnesota DNR hydrography. Acres: Minnesota DNR hydrography; depth: Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, fetched 26 Oct 2026. Nearest town: U.S. Census 2024 Gazetteer.

Deepest lakes

2 lakes in Blue Earth County are 50 ft deep or more by Minnesota DNR survey. Madison Lake near Madison Lake (1,447 acres) is the deepest at 59 ft, then Ballantyne Lake (58 ft), George Lake (28 ft) and Duck Lake (25 ft). The other 31 named lakes have no measured depth on record.

Minnesota DNR LakeFinder maximum depths and lake survey contours, fetched 26 Oct 2026.

Clearest water

Clarity is the depth at which a black-and-white Secchi disk disappears from view. 11 lakes in Blue Earth County have measured readings, 30 in all; the middle lake averages 2 ft. The clearest is Hiniker Pond at about 7 ft, then George Lake (4 ft), Red Jacket Valley Park Pond (3 ft) and Duck Lake (3 ft). The least clear is Mills Lake at about 0 ft. Clarity is not a test for bacteria or algae toxins.

Average of measured Secchi readings, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and volunteers, via Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, fetched 26 Oct 2026.

Public water access

Minnesota DNR lists 24 public water access sites on 16 lakes in Blue Earth County; 17 take a boat trailer. The other 26 named lakes have no public access site in the DNR record, so their shores may be private.

Minnesota DNR public water access sites, fetched 26 Oct 2026. The record has no open or closed status.

Fishing

Minnesota DNR lake surveys have recorded fish in 10 lakes in Blue Earth County: walleye in 9, northern pike in 9 and largemouth bass in 6. Minnesota DNR stocking reports list 13 lakes stocked here between 2016 and 2025, 115 stockings in all. Walleye went into 12 lakes. In 2025, the latest year on record, 8 lakes were stocked.

Species recorded in Minnesota DNR lake surveys (game fish by DNR's own list) and Minnesota DNR stocking reports, which give the year, not the day; via LakeFinder, fetched 26 Oct 2026. How we measure

Invasive species

Minnesota DNR lists at least one invasive species for 4 lakes in Blue Earth County: Eurasian watermilfoil in 4. Moving water, plants or animals between lakes spreads them; DNR's rules apply at every access.

Minnesota DNR invasive species designations, as listed in LakeFinder, fetched 26 Oct 2026.

Lake pages in Blue Earth County

4 lakes here have a page of their own, with a depth map drawn from Minnesota DNR survey contours, the stocking record and the latest fish survey.

Chosen by search demand: Google Keyword Planner, October 2026. How we measure

Alerts

Common questions