Loading…
15
Went back to my favorite lake in Minnesota after 5 years and the whole shoreline is gone
I used to camp at this spot on Leech Lake every summer since I was a kid, and when I went back last month the beach where we swam was completely underwater. The water was up past where the fire pits used to be, and a ranger there said the lake has risen almost 2 feet in the last decade from heavier spring rains. Three cabins that used to sit on the point are just gone, torn down because the bank kept washing out. I know one lake isn't proof of anything, but it really hit me seeing it with my own eyes. Has anyone else gone back to a place from their childhood and barely recognized the landscape?
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
veraramirez23d ago
Small correction but it kind of matters here. Leech Lake didn't rise 2 feet from rain alone. The bigger factor is the dam at Federal Dam controlling the outflow, and they've kept the level higher in recent years. Rain plays a part but it's not the whole story. The bank washing out on the point is more about wave action and the shoreline being sand and gravel, which erodes fast once the water sits higher. Cabins on a point like that are basically doomed once the level shifts, rain or no rain. Not trying to nitpick your post, just that people hear "the lake rose from rain" and run with it when the real answer is usually us messing with the water level.
6