Murphy Lake (also, Horseshoe Lake) is a

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 ...

Itasca County, Minnesota Itasca County (pronounced eye-ta-ska) is located in the State of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 45,014. Its county seat is Grand Rapids. The county is named after Lake Itasca, which is in turn a shortened version of the La ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Murphy Lake lies at an elevation of 1332 feet (406 m). Maximum depth is about . Murphy Lake is approximately 18 miles north of

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

. Known fish spices in Murphy Lake include

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 ...

Rock Bass The rock bass (''Ambloplites rupestris''), also known as the rock perch, goggle-eye, red eye, and black perch, is a freshwater fish native to east-central North America. This red eyed creature is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish fa ...

Perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

, and (grey)

Sucker Sucker may refer to: General use * Lollipop or sucker, a type of confection * Sucker (slang), a slang term for a very gullible person * Hard candy ** Cough drop ** Mint (candy) Biology * Sucker (botany), a term for a shoot that arises undergro ...

Wild rice Wild rice, also called manoomin, Canada rice, Indian rice, or water oats, is any of four species of grasses that form the genus ''Zizania'', and the grain that can be harvested from them. The grain was historically gathered and eaten in both ...

does not grow in Murphy Lake. In addition to numerous springs, water flows into Murphy Lake from the northeast from Arrowhead Lake. Water flows out of Murphy Lake via a creek on the south side and flows into the

Hanson Lake Hanson Lake is a lake in the east-central part of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in the boreal forest ecozone of Canada. The lake is irregularly shaped with many bays, islands, and channels as it was formed by glaciers during the las ...

chain of lakes. A public access on the west side of Murphy Lake is accessible from the Murphy Lake Road which perpendicularly adjoins Itasca County Road 49 (Spider Lake Road). Another access road on the east side of Murphy Lake also serves access to the south side of Arrowhead Lake. The only privately owned parcel is on the north side of the lake.

References

*
Minnesota DNR: Lake information report
Lakes of Minnesota Lakes of Itasca County, Minnesota {{ItascaCountyMN-geo-stub