Bear Lake

How big is Bear Lake?

How deep is Bear Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Bear Lake?

What are the closest cities to Bear Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Bear Lake?

Bear Lake is characterized as a lake class 4 lake and is located one mile northwest of Silver Bay in the Lake Superior Watershed. The lake lies within a portion of Tettegouche State Park that allows hunting, ATVs, snowmobiles and outboard motors. Public access is a 0.2 mile portage trail from Bean Lake on the southwest portion of the lake. A second access is the Superior Hiking Trail which traverses city and state land on the ridge along the south side of the lake. There is a small user developed trail to the northeast end of the lake where there is a campsite with two areas to set up tents. The lake is 17 acres, with a maximum depth of 69 feet; the water is very clear with a light green tint. A lake water sample was collected and analyzed, indicating very soft water of low fertility with a total alkalinity of 15 and total phosphorus of 0.010. Boulder and rubble are very common shoreline substrate, while gravel, sand, muck and detritus rare in occurrence. Vegetation is very rare, horsetail is the only emergent all others are terrestrial bog species. No submersed vegetation was observed. One outlet exits on the south end near the access, flowing into Bean Lake.

The 2013 Lake Trout catch of 0.67/lift was below average for this type of lake class. The average weight of 7.11 pounds greatly exceeds average. Two fish were sampled, one 7 pounds the other nearly 7.5 pounds. Lake Trout appear to be naturally reproducing in low numbers as the last stocking occurred in 1970.

The 2013 Splake catch of 12.67/lift was above average compared to other Splake lakes in the Finland Area and was the highest catch on record. Average weight of 0.60 pounds is average by Finland Area standards. Splake fingerlings are stocked in odd numbered years.

The 2013 White Sucker catch of 6/lift was about average for the lake class. Average weight of 0.14 pounds is much smaller than average. The historic catch has been similar with average numbers of small fish. Brook Stickleback, Fathead Minnow, Finescale Dace and Iowa Darter were also sampled in minnow traps.

Bear Lake gets a fair amount of use because of its close proximity to Silver Bay, especially in the winter. It is highly regarded for its natural beauty and is a destination for people using the Superior Hiking Trail.

What is the average air temp for Bear Lake?

Are there any state parks near Bear Lake?