Bay Lake is a body of water located in the Brainerd Lakes region of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. The

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

has a surface area of and approximately of shoreline. The maximum depth of the lake is with a

water clarity Water clarity is a descriptive term for how deeply visible light penetrates through water. In addition to light penetration, the term water clarity is also often used to describe underwater visibility. Water clarity is one way that humans measure ...

of . The

Ojibway The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

called the lake Ses-sa-beg-a-mah, which has been translated as "lake of many bays" or "lake of many arms." Bay Lake is located within Bay Lake Township, approximately east of

Brainerd, Minnesota Brainerd is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 14,395 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Crow Wing County. Brainerd straddles the Mississippi River several miles upstream from its confluence with ...

and five miles (8 km) northwest of

Garrison, Minnesota Garrison is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States, along Mille Lacs Lake. The population was 210 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Brainerd Micropolitan Statistical Area. U.S. Highway 169 and Minnesota State Highway 18 are ...

. Like many other lakes in the area, Bay Lake is surrounded by commercial resorts and private cabins, and is a popular destination for fishing, boating, and

water skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffic ...

. Access to the lake and resorts is via

Minnesota State Highway 6 Minnesota State Highway 6 (MN 6) is a highway in east-central and north-central Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with State Highway 18 in Bay Lake Township near Garrison and continues north to its northern terminus at its intersectio ...

for the western shore and Crow Wing County Highway 10 for the eastern shore. There are three islands on the lake. The largest of these, the Church Island, is used as a Lutheran church camp. Outdoor services, open to the public, are held on the island each Sunday during the summer. Bay Lake is part of the headwaters for the

Ripple River The Ripple River is a small river of north-central Minnesota. The stream headwaters are at the outlet of Bay Lake of eastern Crow Wing County and it flows east and north to its confluence with the Mississippi River on the north side of Aitkin in ...

, and the

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

is common spawning spot for

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

External links

The Official Bay Lake Web Page

Woodland Beach Resort

Ruttger's Bay Lake Lodge

Lonesome Pine Restaurant
{{authority control Lakes of Crow Wing County, Minnesota Lakes of Minnesota

See also

External links