Cruiser Lake

St. Louis County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 69083200

Cruiser Lake has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.

• Cruiser Lake shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of September 2, 2026.
• Maximum depth 91 ft, mean depth 44 ft; surface area 118 acres, 22 littoral acres, 3.4 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 28.0 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: lake trout, white sucker, yellow perch.
• 1 public access on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: August 17, 2015 (targeted survey).
• St. Louis County, nearest town Ray; DNR lake number (DOW) 69083200.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/24/1969 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2015

Catch per net (CPUE) is the DNR survey's count per gill net or trap net set; higher means more of that species were sampled, not a fishing forecast. Top species per gear shown; where we have no verified common name for a DNR code, the code itself is shown.

A targeted survey was completed on Cruiser Lake in 2015 as part of a regular rotation of surveys in the International Falls Management Area. Cruiser is a deep, clear lake in the heart of Voyageurs National Park. The lake has a maximum depth of 91 feet and water clarity of nearly 30 feet during the peak of the summer. Cruiser can be accessed by several different routes on hiking trails from Rainy Lake or Kabetogama, and a campsite on the lake can be reserved through Voyageurs National Park. The survey in 2015 consisted of deep gill net sets that targeted the coldwater fish community. Lake Trout were sampled at 11.5 fish per net, which indicates that there is a very large population. The Lake Trout are small, averaging 15.4 inches. The only other fish sampled in Cruiser were White Sucker. Catching trophy fish in Cruiser is unlikely, but the high density Lake Trout population should provide opportunities to catch a good number of fish on this scenic and remote lake.

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, August 17, 2015.

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