Pokegama Lake Water Level
Pokegama Lake is at 1,272.73 ft today (Oct 31), 0.94 ft below its 1,273.67 ft full pool, down 0.17 ft this week.
Minnesota · Mississippi River headwaters
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Water level history
About Pokegama Lake
Pokegama Lake is a reservoir on the Mississippi River headwaters in Minnesota, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 1273.67 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Pokegama Lake's water level
Pokegama Dam sits in a narrows at Cohasset, just west of Grand Rapids, at Mississippi River mile 1183.8. Congress authorized dams at six headwaters lakes in the River and Harbor Acts of 1880 and 1882, and the first purpose was navigation: hold water up north and release it to keep the river deep enough for boats far downstream. Construction began in June 1883, the timber dam went into operation in 1884, and the Corps rebuilt it in concrete, finishing in 1904. Before impoundment the basin was mostly wetland, known locally for vast stands of wild rice, and a series of falls ran below the lake. That rough reach was historically called the Grand Rapids of the Mississippi, and it gave the city its name. The headwaters dams flooded Ojibwe land; negotiations ran from 1881 to 1886, and a final settlement with the Leech Lake Ojibwe did not come until 1985. Once the nine foot navigation channel was finished in the 1930s the navigation role faded, and the project now runs for flood risk reduction, recreation, water supply, fish and wildlife, tribal trust and wild rice.
The level follows a yearly cycle. The Corps holds a summer target of 1,273.42 feet (NGVD29), then in fall draws the lake down about three feet, to a normal winter target of 1,270.42 feet, to open room for snowmelt. How far the final drawdown goes depends on snow surveys taken in late February and early March, and levels are generally kept low until ice out to limit ice damage. The full operating range runs from 1,270.42 to 1,278.42 feet. The dam directly controls 660 square miles, but Pokegama also receives whatever Lake Winnibigoshish and Leech Lake release upstream, 3,265 square miles in all. Under normal conditions the dam must pass at least 200 cubic feet per second; under the 2009 operating plan, once the lake falls below 1,273.17 feet the release drops to match what Winnie and Leech are sending down. In flood years the Corps cuts Pokegama's outflow to protect the river at Aitkin, so the lake climbs while the water downstream is held back.
The main lake covers 6,721 acres, reaches 112 feet deep and wraps about 57 miles of shoreline through Wendigo Arm, Sherry's Arm and bays like Tioga, Poole's and Mishawaka, according to the Minnesota DNR. It connects to the Mississippi through the Jay Gould chain on the north and Little Pokegama on the south, all navigable, and the Corps puts the whole reservoir at about 16,800 acres at its summer target. The DNR's 2022 management plan names walleye and bluegill as primary species, with bass, muskie and northern pike secondary. Walleye reproduce only sporadically because a large, deep lake warms too slowly for fry to find enough food, so fingerlings have been stocked every year since 2004. The July 2023 survey caught 6.1 walleye per gill net, averaging 18 inches, with growth faster than the statewide average. A five sunfish daily limit started in 2022, and by spring 2024 nearly 35 percent of sampled bluegill topped 8 inches. Rainbow smelt, illegally introduced before 1984, run up Sugar Brook to spawn and are linked to a long slump in tullibee.
Pokegama Lake — frequently asked
What is Pokegama Lake's normal summer level?
The Corps' summer target is 1,273.42 feet on the NGVD29 datum. This page lists full pool at 1,273.67 feet, a quarter foot higher. A second number matters for flows: at or above 1,273.17 feet the dam must release at least 200 cubic feet per second, but below it releases fall to whatever Winnibigoshish and Leech Lake are passing down. In mid August 2026 the lake read about 1,273.4 feet with 235 cfs going out.
Why is Pokegama Lake lower in winter?
It is drawn down on purpose. Each fall the Corps lowers the lake about three feet below the middle of the summer band, to a normal target of 1,270.42 feet before spring melt, which is also the bottom of its operating range. The final depth is set from late winter snow surveys, and levels stay low until ice out to reduce ice damage. The recent gauge panel low of 1,270.49 feet in 2023 sits just above that target.
How high has Pokegama Lake risen in floods?
The recent gauge panel, which covers about 2020 onward, tops out at 1,276.57 feet in 2023. That spring followed record snowfall in the Duluth region. The Corps had lowered Pokegama three feet ahead of the melt, yet by late April a ranger said the lake was almost to 2012 levels while the Mississippi at Aitkin stood at 17.42 feet, over its 14 foot flood stage. In May 2012 the Corps had asked owners to move docks and lifts to higher ground.
When was Pokegama Dam built?
Funding came through River and Harbor Acts in 1880 and 1882. Work started in June 1883 and the original timber dam went into service in 1884, built to store water for Mississippi navigation. The Corps replaced it with concrete by 1904. Today's structure has thirteen 8 foot sluiceways and a 12 foot log sluice; a rehabilitation around 2011 and 2012 converted the sluiceways to gates and added a timber pedestrian bridge across the dam.
Is Pokegama Lake good for walleye and muskie?
Walleye are a primary management species, sustained by annual fingerling stocking since 2004 because natural reproduction is sporadic. The 2023 gill net catch of 6.1 per net met the DNR goal, and fish averaged 18.5 inches after four years. Muskie are a secondary species; muskellunge were stocked in 2008 and 2010 and are too scarce for summer nets to sample well. Northern pike are abundant but short on big fish, so the DNR asks anglers to release pike over 30 inches.
Is there camping at Pokegama Dam?
Yes. The Corps runs the Pokegama Dam campground on U.S. Highway 2 about two miles west of Grand Rapids, beside the Mississippi. It has 21 sites, 19 with electric hookups, plus a picnic shelter, showers, a dump station, fishing docks and a fish cleaning station. A boat ramp north of the dam gives river access, and the walkway across the dam links the campground to the south bank.
Did Pokegama Dam once hold Minnesota's cold record?
Yes. In February 1903 the dam saw three straight days of lows at 50 below zero or colder, and the minus 59 degree reading on the 15th set the state record. It stood until February 2, 1996, when Tower hit minus 60. This is the Pokegama Lake beside Grand Rapids in Itasca County; Minnesota has another Pokegama Lake in Pine County.
Other lakes near Pokegama Lake
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