Living on Bertha Lake
A deep, clear lake with a quiet personality and an open door to the rest of the Whitefish Chain.
There is a particular kind of morning on Bertha Lake. The water lies flat and dark over the deep middle, the shallow bays catch the first light, and you can hear a boat motor somewhere out on Whitefish long before you see it. Bertha sits at the southwest end of the Whitefish Chain, close enough to everything and a little apart from it.
If you are picturing a life here, this is what the lake itself is like, drawn from Minnesota DNR records and many seasons on the chain.
Ready to look at homes on Bertha? Visit the buyer's page. Already own here? You can request a private valuation.
The lake by the numbers
- Size: 337 acres
- Maximum depth: 64 feet
- Shoreline: 3.85 miles
- Water clarity: about 15.6 feet on average in DNR Secchi readings
That combination is uncommon. Many lakes this size are shallow and weedy from shore to shore. Bertha has a true deep basin, and the DNR classifies it as mesotrophic, a middle state between nutrient-poor and nutrient-rich lakes. In practice that means clear water, healthy weed beds near shore, and enough depth to hold cold-water fish like tullibee and lake whitefish through summer.
Shoreline and bottom
The DNR describes Bertha as an oval lake with several small bays joined to the main basin by narrow channels. A few small islands sit at the south end and near the channel to Clamshell.
Along most of the main lake the bottom is hard: sand, gravel and rubble. That is good news for swimming and for setting a dock. The two southern bays and the east bay are softer, with muck and silt, along with waterlily beds and some wild rice. Those bays are some of the best wildlife habitat on the lake and some of the least suited to a sandy swim beach. Where a home sits on Bertha matters a great deal to how the water in front of it feels underfoot.
The shoreline is privately owned and developed with homes, along with a commercial marina, according to the DNR.
Boating on the chain
Bertha connects to Whitefish Lake to the north and to Clamshell Lake to the east, both by navigable channel. From Whitefish you can travel on through the larger chain, which the DNR describes as about 14,000 acres of connected water. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regulates the chain's water level at the Cross Lake dam, which first went into operation in 1886.
Because Bertha has no public launch of its own, boat traffic tends to come through the channels rather than from trailers backing down a ramp on the lake. That gives the lake a calmer feel than some of the bigger, busier water on the chain, while still letting you run to a restaurant, a fuel dock or a sandbar on a summer afternoon.
Quiet or busy?
On a weekday in September, Bertha can feel like your own lake. On a sunny July weekend, you will see traffic heading through the channels and pontoons drifting the shallows. The deep, open middle gives room for watersports, while the soft bays stay calm and green. The DNR notes that shallow areas see heavy recreational use, so many owners keep their wake low near the weed beds to protect them.
Town and services
The nearest towns are Pequot Lakes and Crosslake. Between them you will find groceries, hardware, marinas, restaurants, churches, medical clinics and the small-town rhythm of a lake-country summer. Brainerd and Baxter, with larger stores and a regional hospital, are a longer drive to the south.
Caring for the lake
The DNR found no non-native aquatic plants on Bertha in its 2011 vegetation survey, but the lake is designated as infested with zebra mussels. Owners who clean their boats and lifts, keep native plants along the shore and limit lawn runoff help protect the clarity that drew them here in the first place.
Questions
How deep is Bertha Lake?
Bertha Lake reaches 64 feet at its deepest point, which is deep for a lake of 337 acres.
Is the bottom of Bertha Lake sandy?
Much of the main lake has a hard bottom of sand, gravel and rubble. The two southern bays and the east bay have softer muck and silt.
Can I boat from Bertha Lake to the rest of the Whitefish Chain?
Yes. Navigable channels connect Bertha to Whitefish Lake to the north and Clamshell Lake to the east, and from Whitefish you can reach the wider chain.
Keep reading
Read the Bertha Lake fishing guide, the buyer's guide for Bertha, the full Bertha Lake guide, or compare all the lakes on the chain.
I am David Olson, a broker with 20+ years of experience and a family cabin on the Whitefish Chain in Crosslake. If Bertha is on your mind, call or text 218.513.2677 or email david@whitefishpropertyfinder.com. Buyers can begin on the buyer's page.
Sources: MN DNR LakeFinder data, Bertha Lake; MN DNR aquatic vegetation report, Bertha Lake; Brainerd Dispatch, Pine River Dam history.