Crescent Lake is a lake located in Tofte Township and Lutsen Township, Political Boundaries in Cook County, MN
,

Cook County, Minnesota Cook County is the easternmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 5,600, making it Minnesota's seventh-least populous county. Its county seat is Gr ...

. Retrieved November 28, 2011

Geography

Crescent Lake lies to the south of the

Boundary Waters Canoe Area The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW or BWCA) is a wilderness area within the Superior National Forest in the northeastern part of the US state of Minnesota under the administration of the U.S. Forest Service. A mixture of forests, ...

("BWCA"), along Forest Route 170.Crescent Lake
U.S. Forest Service, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2011. To the north, Crescent Lake receives water from Kinogami Lake,Kinogami Lake information report
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 2002. Retrieved November 28, 2011. through Willow Creek, in the Willow Creek Unit, a 1360 acre roadless area inventoried by the Forest Service's second Roadless Area Review & Evaluation (RARE II) in 1979, but not added to the BWCA.Preserving the Canoe Country Heritage
, Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness . Retrieved November 28, 2011. To the east, Crescent Lake is connected to Bouder Lake by a shallow, but navigable channel,Bouder Lake information report
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 2005. Retrieved November 28, 2011. and also drains Lichen Lake.West Cook County Water Access Map
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2011. To the south, Crescent Lake empties through a series of small lakes into Rice Lake which in turn drains into the Poplar River and ultimately into Lake Superior.Rice Lake information report
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 2006. Retrieved November 29, 2011. Crescent Lake has an area of 744 acres, of which 558 are part of the littoral area.Lake information report, Crescent Lake
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 2005. Retrieved November 28, 2011. The maximum depth is 28 feet, and water clarity is 9.5 feet.

Plant and animal life

The Minnesota DNR manages a section of 650 acres of mixed old growth forest on state land adjacent to the lake.Border Lakes Subsection Resource Management Plan, Strategic Direction and Stand Selection Results
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 2005. Retrieved November 28, 2011. The lake is a sport fishing lake, and was stocked in the 1970s with

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

and

muskellunge The muskellunge ''(Esox masquinongy)'', often shortened to muskie, musky or lunge is a species of large freshwater predatory fish native to North America. It is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae. Origin of name The name "muskellun ...

. Both populations are now naturally produced in the lake without further help from fisheries. While walleye caught by DNR surveys are generally larger than others caught in lakes of the same class, the muskellunge population measured have thus far all been below the legal catch length. Since muskellunge introduction, the older

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...

population has decreased. During the 1990s, smallmouth bass appeared in Crescent Lake, and as of 2006 have spread from it as far south as Rice Lake, establishing themselves in all the major lakes in the upper watershed of Poplar River. Crescent Lake is also populated by

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samu ...

and

white sucker The white sucker (''Catostomus commersonii)'' is a species of freshwater cypriniform fish inhabiting the upper Midwest and Northeast in North America, but it is also found as far south as Georgia and as far west as New Mexico. The fish is commonl ...

National Forest Campground

The United States Forest Service operates a 34 site fee campground on the west side of Crescent Lake, south of Forest Route 170. It features a boat launch onto Crescent Lake, canoe storage areas, vault toilets, and a quarter mile hiking trail. During the regular season, from April 29 through October 30,Facility Details Season Dates, Crescent Lake
, Reserve America. Retrieved November 28, 2011. drinking water and garbage disposal are available, and the nightly fee is $16.United States Forest Service, Crescent Lake Campground
U.S. Forest Service. Retrieved November 28, 2011. 18 sites can be reserved during regular season. Electricity and dump stations are unavailable.

References

{{authority control Lakes of Cook County, Minnesota Lakes of Minnesota Superior National Forest