Gander Lake

Lake County, Minnesota · MN DNR bathymetric survey

5ft Max
depth

117 acres 1 contour

Paddling Index95ExcellentMedium confidenceaway from major roads · wooded shoreline · sheltered geometry

Get directions

Depth scale

The lake

Survey readout

Gander Lake is mapped to a depth of 5 ft on the Minnesota DNR survey and covers about 117 acres in Lake County, Minnesota. Depths come from the Minnesota DNR survey of 1937.

Measured from the Minnesota DNR lake bathymetric contour survey.

Deepest mapped contour: 5 ft
Survey year: 1937
Surface area: 117 acres
Shoreline: 3.34 mi · irregular
Aquatic vegetation: 1% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: No public DNR launch identified

Additional depth details1 contour

Contour depths: 0–5 ft
Recorded point soundings: 5 ft

Compare with another lake

Location

Lake County, Minnesota · 15 nearest of 51 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: 47.68799, -91.50499
MN DNR lake ID: 38055400
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.4 MB

Paddling

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

95 / 100ExcellentData confidence: Medium

Gander 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

Component	Rating	Points of weight	Measurement
Natural setting	Excellent	42.9 of 43	96% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (36% forest, 59% wetland; 0% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Very Good	30.4 of 36	mean fetch 601 m · 18% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · generally short 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	21.4 of 21	relatively isolated from major roads · 0 MnDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km

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 — 36% forest and 59% 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 (current). Conditions change quickly — check current weather and local conditions before going out.

Fish you might catch

from DNR surveys

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

Northern Pike

White Sucker

Yellow Perch

Pumpkinseed

Golden Shiner

Tadpole Madtom

Blacknose 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 2005

5,165Fish sampled

7Species

Gamefish Northern Pike 66

Panfish Yellow Perch 2,617 · Pumpkinseed 135

All survey species7 species

Gamefish

Northern Pike66 caught · to 28″

Panfish

Yellow Perch2,617 caught · to 7″

Pumpkinseed135 caught · to 4″

Forage & nongame

Blacknose Shiner1,317 caught

Golden Shiner858 caught

Tadpole Madtom142 caught · to 3″

White Sucker30 caught · to 22″

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

Gander Lake — common questions

How deep is Gander Lake?

The deepest contour on the Minnesota DNR bathymetric survey of Gander Lake is 5 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 Gander Lake?

Gander Lake covers about 117 acres in Lake County, Minnesota.

What fish are in Gander Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include northern pike, pumpkinseed, yellow perch, blacknose shiner, golden shiner, tadpole madtom. The page lists all 7 species and the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Gander Lake?

No public launch for Gander 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 Lake County