Christmas Lake

Christmas Lake is a spring-fed lake covering approximately 265 acres in the western Minneapolis suburbs of Shorewood and Chanhassen. The lake is crossed by the border of Hennepin and Carver counties, with most of the area lying within the jurisdiction of the former. Christmas Lake is known for its exceptional water clarity, the best in the Minneapolis metropolitan area, with a DNR-reported clarity level of 20 feet. This clarity can be attributed to the fact that Christmas Lake is a spring fed lake with a sandy bottom. Although relatively small in area, Christmas Lake becomes deep very quickly, forming the basin of a depression that extends all along "the Ridge". The steep nature of the shoreline means that many houses are built far above the lake with railed motorized carts to provide access to the docks at the water level.