Arrowhead Lake

Crow Wing County, Minnesota · MN DNR bathymetric survey

10ft Max
depth

296 acres 1 contour 26% weedy

Paddling Index74GoodMedium confidenceaway from major roads · wooded shoreline

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Depth scale

010

The lake

Survey readout

Arrowhead Lake is mapped to a depth of 10 ft on the Minnesota DNR survey and covers about 296 acres in Crow Wing County, Minnesota. Depths come from the Minnesota DNR survey of 1959.

Measured from the Minnesota DNR lake bathymetric contour survey.

Deepest mapped contour: 10 ft
Survey year: 1959
Surface area: 296 acres
Shoreline: 4.26 mi · irregular
Aquatic vegetation: 26% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: No public DNR launch identified

Additional depth details1 contour

Contour depths: 0–10 ft
Recorded point soundings: 10 ft

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Location

Crow Wing County, Minnesota · 15 nearest of 112 lakes · tap a dot for that lake

Chart data

Provenance

Sources: MN DNR Lake Bathymetric Contours, USGS 3DEP, USDA NAIP (public domain), OpenStreetMap (ODbL).

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Map details & sources4 sources

All layers registered to one bounding box; positions in WGS 84.

Survey-derived depth contours drape over USGS 3DEP elevation, with a USDA NAIP aerial basemap and OpenStreetMap shoreline. Color shows surveyed depth; dark lines are the survey's own isobaths.

Coordinates: 46.71532, -94.21817
MN DNR lake ID: 18036600
Vertical exaggeration: 3.0×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.3 MB

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-09-25

74 / 100GoodData confidence: Medium

Arrowhead Lake has a heavily wooded and largely undeveloped setting, moderate open-water exposure, little nearby major-road exposure.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

Component	Rating	Points of weight	Measurement
Natural setting	Excellent	37.0 of 43	86% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (54% forest, 29% wetland; 6% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Good	17.2 of 36	mean fetch 1,401 m · 0% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · moderate open-water fetch
Motor & speed rules	Not modeled	—	Minnesota’s lake-by-lake motor, speed and no-wake rules are mostly county and city ordinances, not map data, so they are not part of the Minnesota index. Check local signage and ordinances before going out.
Public access	Not listed	—	No public access site of this lake’s own in the MN DNR water access and fishing site records. Private, commercial and informal launches are not all in these records, so this is not evidence that access is poor — the component is excluded and the remaining weights are renormalized.
Road isolation	Excellent	19.7 of 21	relatively isolated from major roads · 3 MnDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 1,200 vehicles/day

Additional paddling considerations

These describe the lake but are not part of the v1 Paddling Index and do not change the number above.

Wake sensitivity: Low — wide enough that wakes disperse over most of the lake
Aquatic vegetation: Moderate — approximately 26% mapped coverage · NAIP aerial imagery (NDVI)
Observed motorized activity: Unknown — No lake-level measurement of boat traffic is available. Legal permission to operate motors is not evidence of use.
Wildlife habitat potential: High — 54% forest and 29% wetland cover within 150 m of shore

Compare Minnesota lakes by Paddling Index →

How this index is calculated. The Paddling Index is a relative composite derived from lake geometry and public land-cover, access and traffic-count data. It is not a user review, a safety rating, or a prediction of an individual outing. Differences of a few points should not be treated as meaningful — an 84 and an 82 are broadly comparable. Components and weights for Minnesota lakes: natural setting 35%, geometric wind exposure 29%, public access 18%, road isolation 18%. Motor, speed and no-wake rules are not modeled for Minnesota, and traffic counts cover state, county and some city roads but not township roads. Where a component has no data the remaining weights are renormalized and the confidence rating is lowered; below Medium confidence no number is shown. Minnesota scores are relative to other Minnesota lakes and are not directly comparable with Paddling Index scores on our sister sites, which use different data sources, some with a watercraft-rules component. Sources: MN DNR lake bathymetry outline, USGS/MRLC NLCD Land Cover (2021) and MnDOT Annual Average Daily Traffic (counts 2015–2025). Conditions change quickly — check current weather and local conditions before going out.

Fish you might catch

from DNR surveys

13 species with recent evidence in this lake — sized relative to each other. Illustrations are AI-generated representative adults in everyday colors, not photographs (provenance).

White Sucker

Hybrid Sunfish

Golden Shiner

About these fish → the Fish of Minnesota guide

Compiled from Minnesota DNR fishery surveys. Silhouettes are stylized and scaled to typical adult sizes relative to one another. Presence is not a promise — fishing isn’t a sure thing.

Fishery

surveyed 2024

359Fish sampled

13Species

Gamefish Northern Pike 74 · Bowfin 7 · Walleye 1

Panfish Bluegill 118 · Yellow Perch 70 · Pumpkinseed 27

All survey species13 species

Gamefish

Northern Pike74 caught · to 32″

Bowfin7 caught · to 29″

Walleye1 caught · to 26″

Panfish

Bluegill118 caught · to 10″

Yellow Perch70 caught · to 8″

Pumpkinseed27 caught · to 8″

Hybrid Sunfish14 caught · to 8″

Black Crappie9 caught · to 13″

Rock Bass1 caught · to 7″

Bullhead & catfish

Yellow Bullhead21 caught · to 13″

Brown Bullhead2 caught · to 13″

Forage & nongame

White Sucker12 caught · to 21″

Golden Shiner3 caught · to 6″

Length is the largest fish netted in the survey, not an angler record. Source: Minnesota DNR lake survey (LakeFinder).

Infested waters listing

listed via connection

Mussels & snails

Zebra MusselListed in 2014 because this water is connected to Whitefish chain. The species has not necessarily been found in this lake.

What does the infested waters list mean?

The Minnesota DNR lists a lake, river, pond or wetland as infested when it contains an aquatic invasive species that could spread to other waters, or when it is connected to a water where one is present. Activities such as bait harvest and water use are managed differently on infested waters. Check the current list before moving water, bait or equipment.

Source: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. List of Infested Waters, September 9, 2026. https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/ais/infested.html

Quick answers

Arrowhead Lake — common questions

How deep is Arrowhead Lake?

The deepest contour on the Minnesota DNR bathymetric survey of Arrowhead Lake is 10 ft. That is the deepest depth the historical survey map records, which may differ from the deepest point of the lake itself.

How big is Arrowhead Lake?

Arrowhead Lake covers about 296 acres in Crow Wing County, Minnesota.

What fish are in Arrowhead Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include northern pike, walleye, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin, brown bullhead. The page lists all 13 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Arrowhead Lake?

No public launch for Arrowhead Lake appears in the Minnesota DNR access data. That is not the same as the lake being private -- private and commercial launches are not in that source.

More lakes in Crow Wing County