Lake Aesthetic and User Recreation Index
for Lake of the Isles
Click here for Current Beach Conditions
Part of the Chain of Lakes Regional Park, Lake of the Isles is located in the heart of the prestigious Kenwood neighborhood. The 93-acre lake is popular with walkers and bikers and those who enjoy a leisurely canoe outing. The lake is linked to Lake Calhoun by a canal that passes under Lake Street.
Lake of the Isles enjoys an excellent ranking in aesthetics and water clarity but has vigorous aquatic plant growth. Since it has no beach, it has no public health rating.
The Lake Aesthetic and User Recreation Index (LAURI) was developed by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to give the public information about the recreational suitability of Minneapolis lakes. Lakes were scored in 4 areas:
The figure above presents the average score Lake of the Isles received in each category from May to June in 2005. LAURI was field tested in 2004 for the first time.
The LAURI was developed to provide recreational users with an additional source of information about the status of MPRB lakes. Aesthetics can be difficult to evaluate since they are dependent on one’s own experience and preferences. But LAURI provides lake users with an easily understandable recreational suitability indicator for MPRB lakes that incorporates aesthetics and the health of the lake. Data is collected during the growing season (May to September).
Hopefully, LAURI will be useful to users of the Minneapolis park system when making recreational decisions. Someone interested in walking or biking around a lake may use the aesthetic score. A swimmer may compare lakes based on the public health, aquatic plant, aesthetic and water clarity scores. A sailor or kayak user may be primarily concerned with the aquatic plant (recreational interference) score.
