Elliot Lake

St. Louis County, Minnesota · MN DNR bathymetric survey

10ft Max
depth

373 acres 2 contours Public access

Paddling Index74Goodaway from major roads · wooded shoreline

Get directions

Depth scale

0510

The lake

Survey readout

Elliot Lake is mapped to a depth of 10 ft on the Minnesota DNR survey and covers about 373 acres in St. Louis County, Minnesota. Depths come from the Minnesota DNR survey of 1957.

Measured from the Minnesota DNR lake bathymetric contour survey.

Deepest mapped contour: 10 ft
Survey year: 1957
Surface area: 373 acres
Shoreline: 4.1 mi · irregular
Aquatic vegetation: 1% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: Trailer Launch · Elliot Lake Public Water Access Site · Minnesota DNR site

Additional depth details2 contours

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

Compare with another lake

Location

St. Louis County, Minnesota · 15 nearest of 147 lakes · tap a dot for that lake

Chart data

Provenance

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

⚠ Not for navigation

Spot an error? Send a correction

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: 47.31212, -92.44216
MN DNR lake ID: 69064200
Vertical exaggeration: 3.0×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.4 MB

Paddling

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

74 / 100GoodData confidence: High

Elliot 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	28.7 of 35	82% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (38% forest, 44% wetland; 14% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Good	15.3 of 29	mean fetch 1,286 m · 2% 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	Good	15.0 of 18	1 DNR public access site · boat ramp
Road isolation	Excellent	15.1 of 18	relatively isolated from major roads · 3 MnDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 7,111 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 1% 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 — 38% forest and 44% 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), MN DNR Water Access Sites and Fishing Piers & Shore Fishing Sites (2026-09) and MnDOT Annual Average Daily Traffic (counts 2023–2025). Conditions change quickly — check current weather and local conditions before going out.

Fish you might catch

from DNR surveys

11 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

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 2018

408Fish sampled

11Species

Gamefish Northern Pike 63 · Largemouth Bass 21

Panfish Bluegill 182 · Black Crappie 51 · Yellow Perch 43

All survey species11 species

Gamefish

Northern Pike63 caught · to 32″

Largemouth Bass21 caught · to 18″

Panfish

Bluegill182 caught · to 7″

Black Crappie51 caught · to 12″

Yellow Perch43 caught · to 8″

Pumpkinseed21 caught · to 7″

Hybrid Sunfish6 caught · to 8″

Bullhead & catfish

Yellow Bullhead14 caught · to 13″

Brown Bullhead4 caught · to 14″

Black Bullhead1 caught · to 11″

Forage & nongame

White Sucker2 caught · to 13″

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

Elliot Lake — common questions

How deep is Elliot Lake?

The deepest contour on the Minnesota DNR bathymetric survey of Elliot 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 Elliot Lake?

Elliot Lake covers about 373 acres in St. Louis County, Minnesota.

What fish are in Elliot Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include largemouth bass, northern pike, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead. The page lists all 11 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Elliot Lake?

Yes. The Minnesota DNR lists a public access site on Elliot Lake: a boat ramp. It is administered by the DNR Division of Parks and Trails. DNR directions: "12 mi S of Eveleth on US Hwy 53, then 1 mi E on Cnty Rd 93, then 1 mi N to W shore."