Living on Arrowhead Lake
Arrowhead is the chain's wild rice lake: shallow, green, quiet, and connected by channel to everything else.
Some lakes are made for the big boat and the long run across open water. Arrowhead is made for the morning coffee on the dock, the loon you hear before you see, and the kayak that slips along a rice bed while the rest of the chain is still waking up.
If you are picturing a life on this lake, it helps to know exactly what the water is and is not. Here is a plain look at it, drawn from the DNR's own work on Arrowhead.
Curious what's available on Arrowhead right now, including homes that are not on the open market? Start on the buyer page.
The water itself
Arrowhead covers 296 acres and reaches only 13 feet at its deepest. Every part of it is 15 feet or shallower. Water clarity on the site's baseline figure is about 6.5 feet, and the DNR classifies the lake as eutrophic, which means it is naturally rich in nutrients and grows plants well. The DNR's 2011 survey found plants at 95 percent of sampled sites.
The most striking feature is the wild rice. In 2011 the DNR mapped roughly 124 acres of it, about a third of the lake, and the Whitefish Chain sensitive lakeshore report names Arrowhead among the lakes with the largest rice beds on the chain. In late summer the rice stands tall and gold-green across whole sections of the lake.
That makes Arrowhead a lake to look at and paddle as much as to swim. The bottom is mostly soft muck and silt, with sand or gravel on parts of some shores. If firm wading is important to you, that becomes a lot-by-lot question, which is covered in the Arrowhead buyer's guide.
Shoreline character
The DNR describes the main basin as shaped roughly like an arrow pointing northeast, with a 19-acre bay on the southeast shore joined by a narrow channel. The shoreline runs about 4.09 miles. Much of the shoreland is forested, with wetlands at the northeast and southwest ends. At the time of the 2011 survey the DNR counted about 30 homes on the lake.
The northeast shore is a state Aquatic Management Area, which keeps that stretch in a natural condition. Thompson Creek and Spring Brook flow into the lake.
Wildlife is a real part of daily life here. In the DNR's lakeshore survey, Arrowhead recorded 61 bird species, including 14 species of greatest conservation need, the second-highest count on the chain. Surveyors heard an Eastern whip-poor-will on Arrowhead, and mink frogs were found around the lake.
Boating routes on the chain
Arrowhead sits at the north end of the Whitefish Chain. It became permanently connected in 1961, when an intermittent stream to Upper Whitefish Lake was dredged into a channel. From there a boater can continue onto the rest of the chain, including Lower Whitefish and Cross Lake.
Water levels across the chain are managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the Pine River Dam at the outlet of Cross Lake, which first operated in 1886 and raised the lakes into the connected system people know today.
For day-to-day boating, think pontoon, fishing boat, kayak and canoe. The shallow water and dense vegetation are part of the lake's character, so most owners keep a lighter touch on the throttle here than on the big lakes.
Quiet or busy?
By the nature of its depth and plant growth, Arrowhead is not a water-ski lake. Its pace tends to be slower than the main open basins of the chain, and the forested and protected shoreline adds to that feel. Busier water is a short channel ride away when you want it.
Town services
The City of Crosslake is the main service town for the chain, with groceries, restaurants, hardware, marinas and the Crosslake Recreation Area run by the Corps of Engineers at the dam. Brainerd and Baxter, farther south, handle the larger errands and medical services.
Questions
Can you swim off the dock on Arrowhead Lake?
Many owners do, but it depends on the lot. The lake is shallow, weedy and mostly soft-bottomed, with sand or gravel on parts of some shores. Wade the frontage before you buy.
Is Arrowhead Lake connected to the Whitefish Chain?
Yes. A channel dredged in 1961 connects Arrowhead to Upper Whitefish Lake, and from there to the rest of the chain.
Why is there so much wild rice on Arrowhead?
Arrowhead is shallow, nutrient-rich and soft-bottomed, conditions wild rice favors. The DNR mapped about 124 acres of rice there in 2011.
Keep exploring: the Arrowhead Lake guide, fishing Arrowhead, a year on Arrowhead, and all Whitefish Chain lake guides.
I have a family cabin on the Whitefish Chain in Crosslake and would be glad to show you Arrowhead from the water. Call or text 218.513.2677 or email david@whitefishpropertyfinder.com.
Sources: Minnesota DNR, Aquatic Vegetation of Arrowhead Lake (2011); Minnesota DNR, Sensitive Lakeshore Survey, Whitefish Chain of Lakes; Minnesota DNR LakeFinder.