13 miles northeast of Ranier
NOT IN MN County, Minnesota · 48.7265° N, 93.1306° W
Directions to Rainy Lake, Tilson Public Water Access SiteApple Maps
Directions open in Google or Apple Maps, to the Minnesota DNR public access sites (5 listed; this is the first).
Updated 15 Oct 2026, 5:31 pm EDT.
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Minnesota DNR lake survey, fetched 15 Oct 2026. Not for navigation.
5 public access sites on Rainy Lake.
Minnesota DNR public water accesses, fetched 15 Oct 2026.
Minnesota DNR’s latest standard fish survey of Rainy Lake was in July 2025: 24 gill nets and 20 trap nets caught 22 species.
Walleye per gill net, standard surveys: 2021 4.8 · 2022 6.9 · 2023 7.5 · 2024 5.4 · 2025 7.2
Black crappie per trap net, standard surveys: 2021 5.0 · 2022 1.9 · 2023 8.5 · 2024 19 · 2025 8.1
Walleye: 1,074 measured, 0 to 27 in, half 2 in or longer; average 1.1 lb, normal (normal 0.8–1.3 lb).
Northern pike: 112 measured, 6 to 41 in, half 23 in or longer; average 4.7 lb, above normal (normal 2.8–4.3 lb).
Smallmouth bass: 136 measured, 0 to 17 in, half 1 in or longer; average 0.99 lb, normal (normal 0.7–1.2 lb).
Black crappie: 1,664 measured, 0 to 14 in, half 1 in or longer; average 0.84 lb, above normal (normal 0.3–0.6 lb).
Yellow perch: 5,763 measured, 0 to 11 in, half 1 in or longer; average 0.29 lb, above normal (normal 0.1–0.2 lb).
Also caught: black bullhead, burbot, cisco species, golden shiner, lake whitefish, pumpkinseed, redhorse, white sucker.
Source: Minnesota DNR Fisheries lake survey, 1 Jul 2025, 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 9 ft: the Secchi depth across 1 readings, 2007.
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and volunteer Secchi readings, via Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, fetched 15 Oct 2026.
Minnesota DNR lake survey; straight-line miles.
Rainy Lake is 161 feet at its deepest point, measured by Minnesota DNR survey. It covers 165,608 acres.
Yes. 5 public access sites are listed: Rainy Lake, Tilson Public Water Access Site; Rainy Lake, Black Bay Narrows Rainy Lake Visitor Center Public Water Access Site; Rainy Lake, Dove Island Public Water Access Site; Rainy Lake, Ranier Public Water Access Site; Rainy Lake, Frank Bohman Memorial Public Water Access Site.
Minnesota DNR’s July 2025 standard survey caught 22 species, most often walleye, yellow perch, black crappie and northern pike.
About 0% of the lake's area is deeper than 10 feet, measured from Minnesota DNR depth contours.