No. 6: Albert Lea Lake

Having 2,654 acres, it’s hard not to miss Albert Lea Lake. It is the geographical feature for which the city was named and is the first body of water to greet travelers heading north from Iowa.

Albert Lea Lake comes in at No. 6 on the Tribune’s countdown of favorite places of Albert Leans.

Though it is the largest lake in Freeborn County, its maximum depth is about six feet. Dwellers along the shores tend to value the lake’s natural habitat and wildlife and welcome migrating pelicans during the warm months.

On its shores are Myre-Big Island State Park, Frank Hall Park, St. Nicholas County Park, the trailhead for the Blazing Star Trail and the popular fishing site at the Juglans Dam, the ever-controversial outlet of the lake.

Second Lt. Albert Miller Lea was a mapmaker and surveyor on a U.S. Army Dragoons expedition through Freeborn County in mid-1835. Everything was new and unnamed, and Lea, who is credited with naming the state of Iowa, named the water Fox Lake.

In 1841, Lea was in Washington, serving as the chief clerk in the War Department. He was contacted by explorer Joseph Nicolas Nicollet, who was working on the official map of the Upper Mississippi region. Nicollet wanted to incorporate Lea’s map into the new one he was creating. As a result, Nicollet changed the name of Fox Lake to Lake Albert Lea. What Lea called Council Lake became either Minnesota Lake or Freeborn Lake, Boone Lake was renamed Bear Lake, and Trail Lake became Upper Twin Lake.

On Oct. 29, 1856, the community’s original plat used the name of Village of Lake Albert Lea, which morphed into Albert Lea Lake. Eventually, the city’s name was shortened to Albert Lea.

The lake has become known for its walleye fishing in recent years, even visited by the TV series “Fishing the Midwest with Bob Jensen” back in 2010. In the winter, a village of fish houses spring up where the channel of water flowing from Fountain Lake enters Albert Lea Lake by Frank Hall Park. The lake has catfish, bullhead, perch, crappie, bluegill, carp, bigmouth buffalo and few types of panfish.

Snowmobiles criss-cross the wide-open lake ice throughout the winter, and hovercraft have been spotted on it, too.

The Pelican Breeze II cruise boat sails from Memorial Day to Labor Day, offering tours of the lake and details about its history. It often features entertainment such as humorist and bird lover Al Batt.

In 1963, the decision was made to have Interstate 35 and Interstate 90 intersect northwest of Albert Lea with twin bridges over Albert Lea Lake. Thus, to this day, when travelers enter the Land of 10,000 Lakes, the first one they see is Albert Lea Lake and, off in the distance, a community called Albert Lea.