Minnesota Lake Depths
NESW

Dead Lake

Hubbard County, Minnesota · MN DNR bathymetric survey
30ft Max
depth
131 acres 6 contours
Paddling Index83Very GoodMedium confidenceaway from major roads · wooded shoreline · sheltered geometry
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Depth scale

The lake

Survey readout

Dead Lake is mapped to a depth of 30 ft on the Minnesota DNR survey and covers about 131 acres in Hubbard County, Minnesota. Depths come from the Minnesota DNR survey of 1962.

Measured from the Minnesota DNR lake bathymetric contour survey.

Deepest mapped contour
30 ft
Survey year
1962
Surface area
131 acres
Shoreline
2.58 mi · irregular
Aquatic vegetation
5% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access
No public DNR launch identified
Additional depth details6 contours
Contour depths
0–30 ft
Recorded point soundings
30 ft, 10 ft, 10 ft
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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
47.02801, -94.90354
MN DNR lake ID
29011000
Vertical exaggeration
2.66×
Basemap
USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size
2.3 MB

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-09-25
83 / 100Very GoodData confidence: Medium

Dead Lake has a heavily wooded and largely undeveloped setting, generally sheltered geometry, little nearby major-road exposure.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

ComponentRatingPoints of weightMeasurement
Natural settingExcellent35.5 of 4385% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (72% forest, 11% wetland; 11% developed)
Geometric wind exposureVery Good26.5 of 36mean fetch 752 m · 3% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · generally short fetch
Motor & speed rulesNot 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 accessNot 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 isolationExcellent20.7 of 21relatively isolated from major roads · 1 MnDOT-classified segment within 1.2 km, peak 546 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
Low — approximately 5% 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 — 72% forest and 11% wetland cover within 150 m of shore
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 2021). Conditions change quickly — check current weather and local conditions before going out.

Fish you might catch

from DNR surveys

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

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 2017
243Fish sampled
10Species

Gamefish Northern Pike 33 · Largemouth Bass 32 · Walleye 1

Panfish Bluegill 87 · Black Crappie 30 · Pumpkinseed 24

All survey species10 species

Gamefish

Northern Pike33 caught · to 30″
Largemouth Bass32 caught · to 20″
Walleye1 caught · to 24″

Panfish

Bluegill87 caught · to 8″
Black Crappie30 caught · to 13″
Pumpkinseed24 caught · to 7″
Yellow Perch7 caught · to 8″

Bullhead & catfish

Yellow Bullhead26 caught · to 12″
Brown Bullhead1 caught · to 11″

Forage & nongame

Golden Shiner2 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

Not on the Minnesota DNR’s infested waters list as of September 9, 2026. This does not mean the lake is free of invasive species: the list covers certain species only, and a species can be present before anyone finds it.

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

Dead Lake — common questions

How deep is Dead Lake?

The deepest contour on the Minnesota DNR bathymetric survey of Dead Lake is 30 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 Dead Lake?

Dead Lake covers about 131 acres in Hubbard County, Minnesota.

What fish are in Dead Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include largemouth bass, northern pike, walleye, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead. The page lists all 10 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Dead Lake?

No public launch for Dead 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.