Silver Lake

St. Louis County, Minnesota · MN DNR bathymetric survey

15ft Max
depth

28 acres 3 contours

Paddling Index83Very GoodMedium confidencesheltered geometry · wooded shoreline

Get directions

Depth scale

051015

The lake

Survey readout

Silver Lake is mapped to a depth of 15 ft on the Minnesota DNR survey and covers about 28 acres in St. Louis County, Minnesota.

Measured from the Minnesota DNR lake bathymetric contour survey.

Deepest mapped contour: 15 ft
Surface area: 28 acres
Shoreline: 1 mi · lobed
Aquatic vegetation: 2% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: No public DNR launch identified

Additional depth details3 contours

Contour depths: 0–15 ft
Recorded point soundings: 15 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: 47.44725, -92.37385
MN DNR lake ID: 69055500
Vertical exaggeration: 3.0×
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 1.6 MB

Paddling

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

83 / 100Very GoodData confidence: Medium

Silver Lake has a heavily wooded and largely undeveloped setting, well sheltered geometry, some nearby classified roads.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

Component	Rating	Points of weight	Measurement
Natural setting	Excellent	34.7 of 43	83% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (60% forest, 22% wetland; 10% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Excellent	35.7 of 36	mean fetch 358 m · 100% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · short fetch in most directions
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	Good	12.3 of 21	some nearby classified roads · 3 MnDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 962 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: Moderate — narrow in places — wakes would carry across parts of the lake
Aquatic vegetation: Low — approximately 2% 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 — 60% forest and 22% 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 2023). Conditions change quickly — check current weather and local conditions before going out.

Fish you might catch

from DNR surveys

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

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 1985

197Fish sampled

5Species

Gamefish

Northern Pike3 caught

Walleye2 caught

Panfish

Yellow Perch179 caught

Bullhead & catfish

Black Bullhead2 caught

Forage & nongame

Golden Shiner11 caught

This survey reported catch counts without lengths. 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

Silver Lake — common questions

How deep is Silver Lake?

The deepest contour on the Minnesota DNR bathymetric survey of Silver Lake is 15 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 Silver Lake?

Silver Lake covers about 28 acres in St. Louis County, Minnesota.

What fish are in Silver Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include northern pike, walleye, black bullhead, yellow perch, golden shiner. The page shows the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Silver Lake?

No public launch for Silver 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.