Rocky LakeMaking Connections
MapsLinks
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Full image approximately 2 miles square |
Description
Rocky is a small, relatively deep lake, in the Oyster River drainage of the Lac La Croix basin, 17¾ miles east of Crane Lake and 26¾ miles NNW of Ely. A mile long and fairly narrow, Rocky is pinched by high hills rising, often quite steeply, over 150' above the shore. Its 116 acres have a maximum depth of 40' as the slope of the lake bottom continues that of the hillsides above.An 85 rod, up-and-over portage off the northwestern shore connects with Green Lake to the north, gaining 38' of elevation in the first 25 rods before leveling out and then dropping 66' into Green. At the south end of Rocky, another 85 rod carry bypasses the short run of Rocky Creek, climbing 14' in the first 48 rods, then descending 28' to the shores of Oyster. At the far northern end, Chase Creek runs down from tiny Chase Lake, which sits just north, and 23' above, Rocky's northern shore.
The forests which ring Rocky Lake are nearly 250 years old, having grown largely undisturbed since the fire years of 1755-1759. This region of the BWCA escaped damage in the 4th of July windstorms of 1999, which caused such extensive tree loss to the south and east.
Campsites
Rocky supports a single established campsite, in the northeast end.Planning Considerations
Rocky is a link in the Gebeonequet/Oyster route which runs south from the mouth of Gebeonequet Creek on Pocket Creek, through Gebeonequet, Green, and Rocky lakes, to Oyster. There it connects with the east/west Pauness/Boulder Bay route, which heads north and east out of Upper and Lower Pauness on the Little Indian Sioux River through Shell, Little Shell, Lynx, Ruby, Hustler, Oyster, and Lake Agnes, to Boulder Bay on Lac La Croix. The campsite on Rocky would may a good base from which to bushwhack up to Chase.Wildlife
Rocky Lake supports populations of Northern Pike (Esox lucius), Pumpkinseed Sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus), Rock Bass (Ambloplites rupestris), White Sucker (Catostomus commersoni), and Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens).Notes and Comments
Consistent with its name, Rocky is indeed a very rocky lake.
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