Living on Loon Lake: A Small Lake with the Whole Chain at the End of the Channel
Loon Lake offers the quiet of a small, sheltered lake, with Island Lake and the rest of the Whitefish Chain reachable by boat.
Some people want the big water: the long views, the open-lake wind, the boats crossing at speed. Others want the opposite. They want a lake small enough to paddle around before breakfast, quiet enough to hear the wind in the pines, and still connected to everything when they are in the mood for a longer ride. Loon Lake is that second kind of place.
If that sounds like you, this guide will help you picture daily life here and decide whether Loon fits the way you want to live.
Curious about homes on Loon and the lakes around it? Start a conversation with David.
A small, sheltered lake
Loon Lake covers about 50 acres and reaches about 30 feet at its deepest. The DNR's 2012 sensitive lakeshore report lists it among the smallest lakes on the Whitefish Chain. Loon has no public launch, so the boats on the water are mostly residents' boats.
The DNR studies Loon together with Island Lake as Island-Loon for fish and plants. The 2011 plant survey of the two lakes found a varied mix of underwater plants and floating-leaf beds of white and yellow waterlilies. On a lake Loon's size, the shoreline and those plant beds are a big part of what you see from the dock every day.
Water quality and the road nearby
Loon sits close to County Road 66 in Crosslake, and that closeness has shaped its recent history. According to reporting on the project, a mini-watershed of about 42.6 acres drains directly into Loon Lake, and curbs and gutters along County Road 66 had been carrying road runoff into the chain untreated.
The DNR has ranked Island-Loon among the 14 most phosphorus-sensitive of 2,795 Minnesota lakes it studied, and monitoring showed a decline in clarity over two decades. So Crow Wing Soil and Water Conservation District, the City of Crosslake, Crow Wing County, the Whitefish Area Property Owners Association and the Crosslakers built a Clean Water Fund project along County Road 66 and Manhattan Point Boulevard, with hydrodynamic separators and a stormwater pond to catch phosphorus and sediment before it reaches the lake.
For a homeowner, the message is clear. On a small lake, what happens on each lot matters. A natural shoreline buffer, careful lawn care and a well-maintained septic system help protect the water you came for.
Boating routes from your dock
Loon connects to Island Lake by a short channel, and Crow Wing County's water surface use ordinance makes it a slow no-wake zone. From Island Lake, a second no-wake channel leads to Whitefish Lake, and from there the rest of the chain opens up: Lower Whitefish, Upper Whitefish, and the channels toward Cross Lake.
A day on the big lakes starts with two easy idles. That is part of the charm. You leave the calm behind for a few hours and come home to it in the evening.
Quiet or busy?
Loon is one of the quieter corners of the Whitefish Chain. It is small, it has no public launch, and boats from the rest of the chain reach it through a no-wake channel from Island. Summer weekends bring more traffic to the bigger lakes; on Loon, the change is usually modest. If you want water skiing or long open-water runs at home, Loon is not that lake. If you want paddling, swimming and evenings on the dock, it may be exactly right.
Town services nearby
Because Loon lies near County Road 66, the main road through Crosslake, town is close. Crosslake has shops, restaurants, golf and a Chamber of Commerce welcome center at County Road 66 and County Road 3. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers runs the Cross Lake Recreation Area by the Pine River Dam, with beaches, fishing piers, a boat ramp and a campground in season. For larger shopping and medical services, many residents travel south toward Brainerd.
Questions
Can I boat from Loon Lake to the rest of the Whitefish Chain?
Yes. A slow no-wake channel leads from Loon to Island Lake, and another slow no-wake channel leads from Island to Whitefish Lake and the rest of the chain.
Is there a public launch on Loon Lake?
No. Loon has no public launch, which is one reason it stays quiet.
How big is Loon Lake?
About 50 acres, with a maximum depth of about 30 feet.
Ready for the practical side? Read the Loon Lake buyer's guide, see a year on Loon Lake, or visit the Loon Lake overview.
David Olson is a 4th-generation builder with 20+ years of experience and a family cabin on the Whitefish Chain in Crosslake. Call or text 218.513.2677 or email david@whitefishpropertyfinder.com. See how David helps buyers.
Sources: Minnesota DNR, Sensitive Lakeshore Survey, Whitefish Chain of Lakes (2012); Crow Wing County Water Surface Use Ordinance; Pine and Lakes Echo Journal on the Island-Loon stormwater project; Minnesota Legacy Amendment, Targeted Stormwater Retrofit Project for Island-Loon Lake; Explore Minnesota, Crosslake; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Cross Lake Recreation Area.