Otter Tail Minnesota Articles

Twin Island Estates – Big McDonald Lake – Perham, MN – Map

19 Single family residential homes to be erected in Edna Township along Big McDonald Lake and Archie Lake in Otter Tail County.

Update: A motion to deny the preliminary plat for the following reasons: 1) Roads need to be brought into compliance. 2)Current road doesn’t extend to southern property line. 3) A need for above ground wetland access to lake. 4) Lot lines need to be redrawn. Development has been tabled until next meeting of Otter Tail County to allow for corrections recommended by the board.

 
Acreage: 935
Max Depth: 46 ft.
Fish: Walleye, Northern Pike, Largemouth bass, Bluegill

Twin Island Estates – Big McDonald Lake – Perham, MN – Map

Otter Tail County Planning and Zoning recommended approval for this development on March 19^th, 2007.

19 Single family residential homes to be erected in Edna Township along Big McDonald Lake and Archie Lake in Otter Tail County.

 
Lake Acreage: 935
Max Depth: 46 ft.
Fish: Walleye, Northern Pike, Largemouth bass, Bluegill

Oakwood Shores--Silver Lake—Frazee, MN—Map

This development was recommend for approval by the Ottertail County Planning and Zoning Commission on Jan 10, 2007.

19 Single Family Home Lots have been approved for building along side Silver Lake in Ottertail County.

Lake Acreage: 383
Max Depth: 65 ft.
Fish: Nothern Pike, Walleye, Bluegill

East Loon Lake Heights—East Loon and Sybil Lakes—Vergas, MN—Map

This development was recommended for approval by the Ottertail County Planning and Zoning Commission on Jan. 10^th, 2007.

4 single family residential lake lots sharing frontage with both East Loon Lake and Sybil Lake in Ottertail County. 

Lake Name: East Loon Lake
Acreage: 1,048
Max Depth: 105
Fish: Bluegill, Sunfish, Northern Pike

Lake Name: Sybil Lake
Acreage: 706
Max Depth: 74ft
Fish: Bluegill, Yellow Bullhead, Northern Pike

Jen Hanson started in the real estate business not as an agent, but as a member of a construction firm. While there she honed her people skills, interacting with clients and assessing their needs on a daily basis. Those skills would later prove invaluable when she embarked on her career as a real estate agent.

She earned her license in 1997 and has been listing and selling homes in the Otter Tail County lakes area for the past eight years. She has worked very hard to server her customers, logging over 50,000 miles and hundreds of research hours in the first year alone to make sure she knew the ins and outs of her product. It is that kind of dedication to her customers and her job that has made her one of the top agents in the area and the owner of her Re/Max office in Perham, MN.

LakeshoreDreams.com had a chance to sit down with Jen and learn more about her and the area she serves.

LD: Agents match people with properties that best suit their needs. How do you insure that this happens?

Hanson: Well, first off I think it's important that the buyers know that each lake has a different personality and depending on what the buyer wants to do on the lake determines what lake would be better suited for their needs. A lot of them come in thinking that they are just buying a lake home. Once they start getting into it they realize that certain things work for them or don't work for them. As their agent, it's my job to educate the buyer about the property and ask the buyer questions in order to assess their needs and then address them. That's why I strive to know all the little details about the properties I show. Where the closest gas station is, where the good restaurants are, where the best swimming holes are, and so on. It's knowing those little details that improve my value as an agent.

LD: If I was interested in purchasing a lake home near Perham, why would I want to live near this community?

Hanson: Perham is a wonderful place to live. We have a top notch hospital with a complete staff and full time surgeon on hand at all times. We also have a state renowned assisted living facility for residents that need extra care. If you have children, you'll be delighted to know that we have strong schools serving elementary through high school aged children. Our thriving downtown that is busy all year round with many different kinds of specialty shops and grocery stores. Our chamber of commerce helps out by offering great financial packages and revolving loans that attract smaller business and keep them here.   

The people here are also wonderful. Many of the citizens volunteered to have money deducted from their checks to help pay for our new community center. They were able to raise $2.7 million for the project and now we have a wonderful community center to show for it.

LD: A thriving town and an active community. Sounds like a good fit to me. I haven't even asked you about the surrounding lakes. What are some of them like?

Hanson: The closest to Perham would be Little Pine Lake, that one is about 1,200 acres and its shores have many beautiful sandy beaches. Lots of people have had houses up there for years and have handed them down for generations. Across the way there is Big Pine Lake. This one is a little bigger at 5,000 acres and it does have a few sandy beaches. But Big Pine has much more natural shorelines lined with trees and long grasses. This lake would be perfect for people that want more privacy or just want to enjoy the scenery. The fishing must be great there as well because you can see many fishing houses lining the shores of that lake.

LD: What kind of developments or projects are you currently showing?

LD: Are there any new developments being planned in your area?

Hanson: The Naterra Company has bought a sizeable amount of river frontage three miles outside of Perham. They are currently platting it for residential use. Currently, I am unsure of any of the particulars.

LSD: What kinds of properties are your clients leaning towards?

Hanson:  Well, my buyers tend to fall into two groups, the fixer uppers and the finished products. The fixer-uppers purchase older properties and either renovating them for their own use or they are house flippers where they improve the property and then turn around and sell it for a profit. The people who want the finished product either tear down the old house and have a new one built, or they buy a house that's already been renovated by the previous owner.

For more information on properties in Perham and Otter Tail County please visit Jen Hanson's listing page on LakeshoreDreams.com.

Fergus Falls began in 1857 when Joe Whitford was sent by his employer, James Fergus, to find a site for a new community. Along the way he encountered an Indian family who told him where there was a big falls. After finding the rapids, Whitford staked out a town site and named it Fergus Falls in honor of his employer.

Today, Fergus Falls has grown into a thriving multi-ethnic community. 13,471 now call Fergus Falls home. More than 40 percent of those in Fergus Falls trace their heritage to Norway. German, Swedish, Irish, English and Polish round out the ancestries.

Fergus Falls has received many honors, including Tree City USA. The city has 22 parks covering 550 acres. There is a five-block walking path along the Otter Tail River near downtown Fergus Falls. Five lakes lie within the city limits and over 1,000 lakes are less than one hour away.

Besides the parks, Fergus Falls has many amenities to entice even the most jaded Twin Citian, but one of the most fantastic of the city's pleasures is bird watching.

More than 275 species of bird enjoy the area's collection of habitats. Pine forests, deciduous woodlands, native tallgrass prairie, aspen parkland, sand dunes, calcareous fens, bogs, marshes, large and small lakes and rivers make up the transition zone.

Most of the sites are on public land or private reserves open to the public.

Some of the unique birds you can find include the Northern Goshawk, Ruffed Grouse, Greater Prairie-Chicken, Yellow Rail, American Woodcock, Snowy Owl, Northern Hawk Owl, Great Gray Owl, Three-toed and Black-backed Woodpeckers, Boreal Chickadee, Bay-breasted, Connecticut and Mourning Warblers; Red and White-winged Crossbills and Pine and Evening Grosbeaks.

The Pine to Prairie Birding Trail is more than 200 miles long with 45 sites to view birds. Although spring, summer and fall offer an abundance of birds, winter is also an exciting time to see winter specialties. Check with tourism officials in area cities for more information on bird sightings.

The Pine to Prairie Birding Trail is a partnership between Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Pelican Rapids, Roseau, Thief River Falls and Warroad; participating agencies including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Non-game Wildlife Program, Explore Minnesota Tourism; the birding entities of the Minnesota Ornithologist's Union, Audubon Minnesota, Lakes Area Birding Club and the Agassiz Chapter of the National Audubon Society.

But the birding trail isn't the only trail available to those in Fergus Falls.

The Central Lakes Trail is built on the abandoned Burlington Northern  Railroad corridor. It begins in Osakis and travels northwest Ashby, then west to Fergus Falls. It then passes through Nelson, Alexandria, Garfield, Brandon, Melby, and Evansville.

The Central Lakes Trail project was completed in the summer of 2004. The asphalt surfacing is continuous from Osakis to Fergus Falls. There is more information about the Central Lakes Trail at www.MnBikeTrails.com including an active trail log, community information and links to the towns on the trail. A map will be available at the MNBikeTrails web site when it is completed.

Contributed by John Fitzgerald. John is a freelance writer based out of Buffalo Hills, MN. 

When you think of rural lake charm, you think of Perham.

Nestled in the northeast corner of Otter Tail County, Perham is a four seasons recreational paradise with hundreds of miles of snowmobile trails and 1,100 of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes.

Founded more than 125 years ago, Perham is named after Josiah Perham, the first president of the Northern Pacific Railroad. The railroad arrived in Otter Tail County in 1871. A mercantile store was erected on the north side of the tracks the next year and Perham has been prospering ever since.

Perham has 2,559 citizens as of the 2000 U.S. Census. The median house value is $69,300 as of 2000. More than half the residents claim German ancestry, with Norwegians, Irish, English, Polish and Swedish rounding out the heritage.

The big festival in town is Turtle Days, but there is a lesser-known attraction visitors can see.

Perham resident Verona Larson, who celebrated her 80th birthday in 2000, collected dolls. She had so many they took up a large part of her home. Several years ago, she began working with the Perham Area Chamber of Commerce to create a doll museum which became Verona's House of Dolls in the Chamber building.

There are approximately 500 dolls, one of the largest doll museums in the state. There are displays of Native American dolls, Eskimo dolls, Campbell Kids dolls, Cabbage Patch dolls, Wizard of Oz dolls and much more. Some of the favorites are the Gone With the Wind dolls, the Dionne Quintuplets and the wedding dolls of Charles and Diane and Fergie and Andrew.

But the big draw in Perham is the Turtle Festival held each year during a weekend in June. The feature? The daily turtle races, of course. On Wednesday through Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the City Hall Park, the International Turtle Races are open for kids of all ages. Turtles will be provided or you can bring your own turtle. The winner is the Turtle Fest Champ.

There are other festive features:

--  All your favorite food from your favorite food vendors.

-- A model plane demonstration. The Screamin' Eagles show off their model planes.

-- The pet and toy parade on Friday. Dress up yourself and your pet and win some prizes.

-- A street dance Friday night, which is a fundraiser for the Perham Jaycees.

-- Fireworks on Saturday after the demolition derby at dusk. Organizers say it is the area's most awesome display of fireworks.

-- The Lions Club demolition derby on Saturday at the Perham Fairgrounds.

-- The Saturday basketball shoot. Winner gets a portable basketball hoop.

-- The Rotary breakfast on Sunday. Rotarians serve and occasionally sing to patrons. This is a fundraiser for scholarships for Perham residents.

-- The Grand Parade is at 1 p.m. Sunday. Many Perhamers bring their lawn chairs, their favorite beverage and enjoy the show.

-- Other events include an arts and crafts bazaar, airplane rides, softball tournaments, a pancake breakfast, 5K and 10K automobile road races, a quilt show and a medallion hunt.

Whoever dubbed Minnesota "The Land of a Thousand Lakes" must have been from the Otter Tail Region. Boasting over 1048 lakes within its borders, Otter Tail County has more lakes than any other county in the entire United States. Many have dubbed this area as "The Vacationland for All Seasons" because of its combination of scenic beauty, historical attractions, and recreational facilities that can be enjoyed by families all year round.

Located in the heart of Otter Tail County about 17 miles east north east of Fergus Falls is Otter Tail Lake, the largest lake in the county at 13,728 surface acres. Otter Tail Lake is part of the Otter Tail River chain of lakes. Rush, Big Pine, and Little Pine Lakes are located upstream and Deer, East Lost, and West Lost lakes are located downstream. Primary inlets are the Otter Tail River along the north shoreline and the Dead River along the northwest shoreline. The Otter Tail River outlet is located along the southwest shoreline. Otter Tail Lake has a maximum depth of 120 feet; however, 57% of the lake is less than 15 feet in depth. The majority of the lake is surrounded by residential and commercial development.

Otter Tail is a very popular lake for both open water and winter angling. It is known primarily as a walleye lake and is one of the few lakes in the area that supports a yellow perch fishery.

West Battle Lake  is a 5,624 acre lake located 17 miles east of Fergus Falls. It's a popular and heavily developed lake with the city of Battle Lake taking up most of its western bank with 505 homes/cottages and 5 resorts (as of 1995) distributed along the rest of the shore. The maximum depth is 108 feet; however, 44% of the lake is 15 feet or less in depth. Water clarity in this lake is excellent with a secchi disk reading of 19.5ft. Emergent aquatic plants such as bulrush and cattail provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat, and are critical for maintaining good water quality. They protect shorelines and lake bottoms, and can actually absorb and break down polluting chemicals. Emergent plants provide spawning areas for fish such as northern pike, largemouth bass, and panfish. They also serve as important nursery areas for all species of fish. Because of their ecological value, emergent plants may not be removed without a DNR permit. To maintain the excellent water quality and angling that this lake has to offer, it is imperative to preserve the quality of the aquatic habitat.

East Battle Lake is a 2,360-acre lake located in south-central Otter Tail County, approximately two miles north of Vining, MN. East Battle Lake is connected to West Battle Lake via Battle Lake Creek. The maximum depth is 87 feet; however, 35% of the lake is 15 feet or less in depth. A majority of the shoreline is developed with homes, cabins, and resorts. Development is distributed around the entire lake and has been shown to negatively impact water quality by increasing nutrient inputs and shoreline erosion.

East Battle Lake is a popular angling lake. Northern pike, largemouth bass, walleye, and bluegill are the dominant gamefish species in the fish community of East Battle Lake. The prolificacy of these species can be attributed to the abundance of suitable spawning habitat that is available.

Big Pine Lake is a 4,730-acre mesotrophic lake located in northeastern Otter Tail County approximately three miles east of Perham, MN. Big Pine Lake is part of the Otter Tail River Watershed and is connected to Little Pine and Rush Lakes via the Otter Tail River. The maximum depth of Big Pine Lake is 76 feet; however, fifty percent of the lake is less than 15 feet in depth. The shoreline of Big Pine Lake has been extensively developed. Homes, cottages, and resorts compose the majority of the development. As of 1992, nine resorts and approximately 202 homes/cottages were built on Big Pine Lake's shore.

Big Pine Lake is a popular angling lake. The lake has a reputation as one of the premier walleye angling lakes in Otter Tail County. Northern pike and yellow perch are also abundant and have good size distributions as well. The prolificacy of these species can be attributed to the abundance of suitable spawning habitat that is available.

North Lida Lake is located in northwestern Otter Tail County five miles east of Pelican Rapids, MN. It is a 5, 564 acre lake with a maximum depth of 58 feet. It is connected to South Lida Lake via a navigable culvert under State Highway 101. A majority of the shoreline on North Lida Lake has been developed. Homes, cottages, and resorts compose the development. The 1995 lake resurvey referenced 471 homes/cottages and nine resorts.

North Lida Lake is a popular angling lake and is one of the best all around angling lakes in Otter Tail County. Walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass, bluegill, and black crappie are the dominant fish species in North Lida Lake.

Pelican Lake is located near the Becker/Otter Tail County border approximately seven miles north of Pelican Rapids, MN. This 3,986 acre lake has a maximum depth of 55 ft; however, 41% of the lake is less than 15 ft. deep. The southern portion of the lake, known as Fish Lake, is 309 acres. Pelican Lake is connected to Little Pelican Lake and Lake Lizzie via the Pelican River. Boat travel upstream to Little Pelican is possible, but Lake Lizzie is inaccessible because of a dam downstream. The shoreline of Pelican Lake has been extensively developed. Homes, cottages, and resorts compose the majority of the development. DNR owned concrete public water accesses are located along the east and southwest shorelines of the lake. Pelican Lake is a popular angling lake during both the open water and ice fishing seasons. The lake is best known for its excellent walleye, northern pike, and bluegill fishing.

For Lakeshoredreams.com, the counties grouped in Otter Tail MN include:

Wilkin County MN, Otter Tail County MN

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