Lake guides · Little Pine Lake
Living on Little Pine Lake
Little Pine is the soft-edged, wildlife-rich end of the Whitefish Chain, a lake for people who would rather watch a heron than a wake.
Some lakes announce themselves. Little Pine waits for you to notice it. It is the easternmost lake on the Whitefish Chain, tucked beyond Cross Lake and Daggett, and the first thing most people say when they idle in through the channel is how calm it feels.
If you are picturing a home here, this guide walks through what daily life on the water is actually like: the water itself, the shoreline, how you get around the chain, and where you go for groceries.
If Little Pine sounds like your kind of quiet, tell David what you are looking for and he will walk you through the shoreline that fits.
The water
Little Pine covers about 330 acres and reaches 36 feet at its deepest, but it is mostly a shallow lake. Roughly 61 percent of it is 15 feet deep or less, and the DNR lists the mean depth at about 10 feet. Average clarity is about 8.8 feet.
That is not the gin-clear water of the deep lakes on the west side of the chain, and it is not meant to be. The DNR classifies Little Pine as eutrophic, which simply means nutrient-rich. Nutrient-rich water grows plants, and plants grow fish, birds and the kind of shoreline life that makes a morning coffee on the dock worth getting up for.
A shoreline with real wildness
The DNR's Sensitive Lakeshore Survey of the Whitefish Chain found that Little Pine has the largest wetland system on the chain, along its north and west shores, and more wetland plant species than any other lake surveyed. Plant diversity here was among the highest on the chain, and wild rice turned up at about 15 percent of survey sites.
Birders will like it. The same survey recorded 55 bird species on Little Pine, including 10 species of greatest conservation need, with diversity highest in the northeast corner. Daggett Brook flows in at the north end, and the DNR's plant survey found the largest emergent and floating-leaf beds in the southwest arm.
Near shore, the DNR found muck common in the northeast arm, silt in many places, and sand in the open, wind-swept stretches. Every lot is different, which is why what is off the end of a particular dock matters so much. More on that in our buyer's guide to Little Pine.
Getting around the chain
Little Pine connects to the rest of the Whitefish Chain by a channel to Daggett Lake, and Daggett opens to Cross Lake. From Cross Lake, the rest of the chain unfolds: Rush-Hen, the Whitefish lakes and beyond. The chain's lakes were joined into one boating system after the Pine River Dam at the outlet of Cross Lake was finished in the 1880s, which raised the water and created permanent channels between lakes that had once stood apart.
For Little Pine owners, that means a quiet home lake with a long boating range. You can spend the morning fishing your own weed lines and the afternoon running west to bigger water. Expect slower going through channels, and watch for posted no-wake areas.
The DNR notes Little Pine has no public access of its own. Boat traffic on the lake comes mainly from the people who live on it and those who run in through the chain.
For the connecting water, see the Daggett Lake guide and the Cross Lake guide.
Quiet or busy?
Little Pine is on the quiet end of the chain. It is shallow and plant-rich, so it does not draw the same big-boat traffic as the deep, open basins. Summer weekends bring pontoons, kayaks and anglers. Weekdays and shoulder seasons can feel almost private.
If you love long ski runs and big open water off your own dock, one of the larger lakes might fit better. If you love paddling at dawn, casting along lily pads and listening to loons, Little Pine fits.
Town and services
Crosslake is the nearest town, with groceries, restaurants, hardware, marinas and services for lake owners. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers runs the Cross Lake Recreation Area in Crosslake, with camping, a boat ramp and a fishing pier on the Pine River. For larger shopping and medical care, most owners head to the bigger towns in the Brainerd lakes area.
Living with zebra mussels
The DNR confirmed zebra mussels in Little Pine in 2014. In practice, owners plan for it: water shoes for swimming, a look at dock and lift hardware each fall, and care with boat intakes. It is a fact of life on many Minnesota lakes, and Little Pine is no exception.
Questions
How clear is Little Pine Lake?
Average water clarity is about 8.8 feet. The lake is shallow and nutrient-rich, so it grows abundant plants and is less clear than the deep lakes on the chain.
Can you boat from Little Pine to the rest of the Whitefish Chain?
Yes. A channel connects Little Pine to Daggett Lake, which opens to Cross Lake and the rest of the chain.
What town is closest to Little Pine Lake?
Crosslake is the nearest town for groceries, dining, hardware and marine services.
Keep reading
See the Little Pine fishing guide, a year on Little Pine, the main Little Pine Lake guide, or all the lakes on the chain.
Ready to look at homes on Little Pine, or just want to talk it through? Call or text David at 218.513.2677 or email david@whitefishpropertyfinder.com. Already own here? Request a private valuation.
Sources: MN DNR LakeFinder, Little Pine Lake; MN DNR aquatic vegetation survey, Little Pine and Daggett; MN DNR Sensitive Lakeshore Survey, Whitefish Chain; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Cross Lake Recreation Area.