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Minnesota · Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (Grays Bay Dam); USGS gauge

Lake Minnetonka water level

Today's reading against full pool and Lake Minnetonka's own seasonal history.

Searched “Minnetonka lake level” or “lake level for Lake Minnetonka”? Same lake, same reading — you're in the right place. The current reading is right here too, whether you typed “current Lake Minnetonka water level” or “current water level at Lake Minnetonka”.

FULL POOL 924 926 928
Elevation, feet (local lake datum (MCWD DNR))

as of September 24, 2026

928.33 ft local lake datum (MCWD DNR)

level 1.1 ft below full pool — on the low side for late September

Reading comes straight from U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (USGS gauge 05289000) and updates live when you load this page.

Is Lake Minnetonka full?

Not quite — 1.1 ft below full pool as of September 24, 2026

How full is Lake Minnetonka? Not as a percentage: no storage figure comes through with this gauge reading, and a share of capacity worked out from the elevation alone would be a guess — how much water a reservoir holds at a given level is a curve only the operator's own capacity table knows. Feet from full pool is what the operator publishes, and it is the figure above.

Lake Minnetonka through the year

The band is the lake's own normal: where the level has run on each calendar day, 2016–2026. The summer drawdown — and how this year sits in it — shows up without reading a single number.

full pool 928 929 930 JFMAMJJASOND
Median and normal range by day of year, 2016–2026 · elevation, feet (local lake datum (MCWD DNR))

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 928 929 930 JFMAMJJASOND
  • 2026 (this year)
  • 2025 (last year)
  • 2019 (wettest on record)
  • 2022 (driest 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 929.40 ft local lake datum (MCWD DNR) · per Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (Grays Bay Dam); USGS gauge full-pool reference
Gauge USGS gauge 05289000 · U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System
Datum local lake datum (MCWD DNR) — Minnetonka is quoted on the local 929 ft lake datum, and 929.4 ft is the Ordinary High Water mark the watershed district manages Grays Bay Dam around.
Last verified August 15, 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

What is the lake level for Lake Minnetonka today?

Lake Minnetonka is at 928.33 ft (local lake datum (MCWD DNR)) as of September 24, 2026 — 1.1 ft below full pool — on the low side for late September.

Is Lake Minnetonka full?

Not quite — at 928.33 ft on September 24, 2026, Lake Minnetonka is 1.1 ft below its full pool of 929.40 ft (local lake datum (MCWD DNR)).

How full is Lake Minnetonka?

Not as a percentage: no storage figure comes through with this gauge reading, and a share of capacity worked out from the elevation alone would be a guess — how much water a reservoir holds at a given level is a curve only the operator's own capacity table knows. Feet from full pool is what the operator publishes, and it is the figure above.

What is full pool for Lake Minnetonka?

Full pool (the conservation pool) for Lake Minnetonka is 929.40 ft local lake datum (MCWD DNR), per Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (Grays Bay Dam); USGS gauge full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.