Big Cormorant Lake is located in northwestern Minnesota's Becker County, about an hour's drive due east of the

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo ( /ˈfɑɹɡoʊ/) is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 125,990, making it the most populous city in the state and the 219th-most populous city in ...

and

Moorhead, Minnesota Moorhead () is a city in and county seat of Clay County, Minnesota, United States, on the banks of the Red River of the North. Located in the Red River Valley, an extremely fertile and active agricultural region, Moorhead is also home to several ...

metropolitan area. Public access boat ramps are located on the northeast and west sides of the Lake. The lake was named after the

cormorant Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...

bird, a common bird in the region. In 2015, the lake was discovered to be infested with

zebra mussels The zebra mussel (''Dreissena polymorpha'') is a small freshwater mussel. The species originates from the lakes of southern Russia and Ukraine, but has been accidentally Introduced species, introduced to numerous other areas and has become an inv ...

, which threatens neighboring lakes. Cormorant Lake is situated near the towns of

Detroit Lakes, Minnesota Detroit Lakes is a city in the State of Minnesota and the county seat of Becker County. The population was 9,869 at the 2020 census. Its unofficial population during summer months is much higher, estimated by citizens to peak at 13,000 midsum ...

Lake Park, Minnesota Lake Park is a city in Becker County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 728 at the 2020 census. History The area upon where Lake Park was founded, started to be settled in 1841 by fur traders while a Dakota encampment still existed ...

Audubon, Minnesota Audubon is a city in Becker County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 560 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. It is located near Lake Park as well as ...

and the Cormorant Township.

History

The land that Big Cormorant Lake sits on was originally occupied by the Chippewa (Ojibwe), and the Sioux Native tribes. The Cormorant Township organized on February 26, 1872, and the name Cormorant is translated from the original Ojibway naming of the lake. In 1867, a treaty was signed establishing the

White Earth Reservation The White Earth Indian Reservation ( oj, Gaa-waabaabiganikaag, "Where there is an abundance of white clay") is the home to the White Earth Band, located in northwestern Minnesota. It is the largest Indian reservation in the state by land area. T ...

, a large tract of land in the northern part of Becker County, to be home for the Chippewa Indians.

Attractions and activities

Some of the most popular attractions on Big Cormorant Lake come in the form of restaurants. Hooligan's Lakeside, Cormorant Pub and Boat House, Parallel 46/Cormorant Inn, Zorbaz on Pelican Lake, the Roadhouse, and Pit 611 offer lake residents food and entertainment. Boutique shopping is also available in Cormorant Village. For over 100 years, YMCA Camp Cormorant has offered spirit, tradition, leadership and exceptional facilities to campers. Founded in 1903, Camp Cormorant is one of the oldest overnight camps in the entire nation and continues to be a tremendous growing up experience for children and teens. The camp is nestled on 80 acres of wooded property with an extensive beach front on Big Cormorant Lake.

Boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether Motorboat, powerboats, Sailing, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sp ...

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

, and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

are the most common activities on Cormorant Lake. Other activities on Big Cormorant include

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

wakesurfing Wakesurfing is a water sport in which a rider trails behind a boat, riding the boat's wake without being directly pulled by the boat. After getting up on the wake, typically by use of a tow rope, the wakesurfers will drop the rope, and ride the ...

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

wakeboarding Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard (a board with foot bindings), is towed behind a motorboat across its wake and especially up off the crest in order to perform aerial maneuvers. A hallmark of wakeboardin ...

and

standup paddleboarding Standup paddleboarding (SUP) is a water sport born from surfing with modern roots in Hawaii. Stand up paddleboarders stand on boards that are floating on the water, and use a paddle to propel themselves through the water. The sport was doc ...

during the summer, and ice fishing and snowmobiling during the winter.

In media

Cormorant Village went viral for electing a dog named Duke for four terms as Mayor. Duke was a Great Pyrenees and passed away Feb 21, 2019. A popular YouTube channel named

CBOYSTV CboysTv is an American motorsports and comedy YouTube group headquartered on Cormorant Lake (Minnesota) United States. The "C" in CBoys stands for "Cormorant" and the groups motto is "''Life Wide Open''" In 2021 the Group passed 1 million subsc ...

films and is headquartered at Cormorant Lake. CBoysTV is an American comedy and motorsports channel consisting of five guys. Their channel has amassed over 1 million subscribers.

Wildlife

Fish to catch

* Black Bullhead *

Black Crappie The black crappie (''Pomoxis nigromaculatus'') is a freshwater fish found in North America, one of the two types of crappies. It is very similar to the white crappie in size, shape, and habits, except that it is darker, with a pattern of black sp ...

Bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and ...

* Brown Bullhead *

Carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

* Green Sunfish *Hybrid Sunfish * Largemouth Bass * Northern Pike * Pumpkinseed * Rock Bass * Smallmouth Bass * Walleye * White Sucker * Yellow Bullhead * Yellow Perch

Invasive species

* Zebra Mussel Dreissena polymorpha3

*Eurasian Milfoil * Spiny waterflea *Starry Stonewort

Climate

Because of its location in the Great Plains and its distance from both mountains and oceans, Cormorant Lake has an extreme humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa/Dfb), featuring long, bitterly cold winters and warm to hot, humid summers. Summers have frequent thunderstorms, and the warmest month of the year is July.

Temperature and precipitation

Ice In - Out

Neighboring lakes

* Leaf Lake (Becker County Minnesota) *

Pelican Lake (Otter Tail County, Minnesota) Pelican Lake is a lake located about seven miles north of Pelican Rapids, Minnesota, Pelican Rapids, in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. Pelican Lake is now a highly developed lake with its major uses predominantly recreation, but it ...

* Little Cormorant Lake * Middle Cormorant Lake * Upper Cormorant Lake * Lake Ida * Lake Maud * Lake Nelson

Adjacent townships

* Cormorant Township (south) * Lake Park Township (north) * Audubon Township (northeast) * Lake Eunice Township (east) * Dunn Township, Otter Tail County (southeast) * Scambler Township, Otter Tail County (south) * Tansem Township, Clay County (southwest) * Parke Township, Clay County (west) * Eglon Township, Clay County (northwest)

References

{{authority control Lakes of Becker County, Minnesota Lakes of Minnesota