Minnesota · USACE St. Paul District (Pine River Dam)

Cross Lake (Whitefish Chain) water level

Today's reading against full pool and Cross Lake (Whitefish Chain)'s own seasonal history.

FULL POOL 1226 1228 1230
Elevation, feet (NGVD29)

as of August 20, 2026

1228.98 ft NGVD29

level 0.6 ft below full pool — this gauge's public record is too short for seasonal comparisons

Reading comes straight from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water data (USACE series MissHW_PineRiver.Elev.Inst.15Minutes.0.rev-NGVD29) and updates live when you load this page.

This year vs the years that matter

This year's trace against last year and the driest and wettest years on record — the drought-context question every lake regular asks.

full pool 1228 1228.5 1229 1229.5 1230 JFMAMJJASOND
  • 2026 (this year)
  • 2025 (last year, driest on record)
  • 2024 (wettest on record)

Full pool, datum, and the gauge

"Full pool" here means the conservation pool — the level the lake is designed to hold for water supply and recreation, not the flood-control space above it. The full explainer covers flood pool and dead pool too.

Full pool 1229.57 ft NGVD29 · per USACE St. Paul District (Pine River Dam) full-pool reference
Conservation capacity 104,745 acre-feet · per USACE St. Paul District (Pine River Dam) capacity reference
Gauge USACE series MissHW_PineRiver.Elev.Inst.15Minutes.0.rev-NGVD29 · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water data
Datum NGVD29 — 1229.57 ft is the district's top of normal pool figure, in the same NGVD29 datum as the gauge.
Last verified August 20, 2026

LakeDates reports lake level, not ramp status. Whether a given ramp or marina is usable at this level varies ramp by ramp — call the marina before you tow.

Quick answers

How full is Cross Lake (Whitefish Chain) right now?

Cross Lake (Whitefish Chain) is at 1228.98 ft (NGVD29) as of August 20, 2026 — 0.6 ft below full pool — this gauge's public record is too short for seasonal comparisons

Is Cross Lake (Whitefish Chain) full?

Not quite — at 1228.98 ft, Cross Lake (Whitefish Chain) is 0.6 ft below its full pool of 1229.57 ft (NGVD29).

What is full pool for Cross Lake (Whitefish Chain)?

Full pool (the conservation pool) for Cross Lake (Whitefish Chain) is 1229.57 ft NGVD29, per USACE St. Paul District (Pine River Dam) full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.