Skip to main content

Water Levels: Lake Minnetonka and Gray's Bay Dam

Questions about water levels, canoeing, or the MCWD's operation of the Gray's Bay dam? Learn more about Gray's Bay Dam.

You can view real-time water level readings of Lake Minnetonka here and Minnehaha Creek here, as part of a partnership between MCWD and the U.S. Geological Survey. Please note, the USGS refers to creek flow as "discharge" on their site.

Ideal creek flows for paddling are between 75 and 150 cubic feet per second (cfs). We do not recommend paddling when the creek's flow is higher than 150 cfs. Conditions can change rapidly, especially after rainfall. We recommend using the real-time flow at Hiawatha Ave to gauge how fast the creek is flowing in the lower half of the creek, and the Gray's Bay Dam discharge to gauge how fast the creek is flowing in the upper half of the creek. Learn more about paddling the creek.

Follow Gray's Bay Dam on Twitter for regular updates on water level and dam discharge.

Most recent reading (April 8, 2020)
Lake Minnetonka: 929.40 feet | Gray's Bay Dam: 150 CFS
Date Lake Level (feet above sea level) Dam Discharge (cubic feet per second) Explanation
April 8, 2020 929.40 150 Dam discharge slightly reduced to 150 cfs as the 7 day forecast remains relatively dry and we are nearing a desirable lake level of 929.35 ft. for spring.
April 6, 2020 929.42 200 Dam discharge slightly reduced to 200 cfs as the 7 day forecast remains dry and we are nearing the desired lake level for spring.
April 3, 2020 929.49 250 Dam discharge has been increased to 250 cfs as the current seven day forecast is for dry weather.
April 1, 2020 929.46 200 As the forecast has decreased to 0.50 inches of rain for Friday (4/3), dam discharge remains at 200 cfs.
March 30, 2020 929.46 200 Dam discharge temporarily increased to 200 cfs as 1.25 inches of rain is forecast Thursday (4/2) -Friday (4/3). We continue to monitor the forecast and discharge will be reduced closer to the rain event.
March 29, 2020 929.45 150 Dam discharge increased to 150 cfs to mitigate the inflow into Lake Minnetonka from upper watershed streams after approximately 1.25 – 1.50 inches of rain fell.
March 27, 2020 929.31 75 Dam discharge remains at 75 cfs as 1-1.25" of rain is forecast Friday overnight (3/27) - Sunday morning (3/29). Dam discharge will be raised after the rain event to mitigate inflow from upper streams.
March 25, 2020 929.30 75 Approximately 1-1.5 inches of rain is forecast from Wednesday (3/25) - Saturday(3/28) overnight. Dam discharge raised to 75 cfs to mitigate water coming into Lake Minnetonka from upper streams as Minnehaha Creek has capacity.
March 23, 2020 929.28 50 Dam discharge remains at 50 cfs.
March 20, 2020 929.27 50 Dam discharge remains at 50 cfs for the weekend.
March 18, 2020 929.22 50 The Gray's Bay dam was opened Monday afternoon and is discharging at 50 cfs. Water levels and dam operations will continue to be updated Mon, Wed, and Fridays.
March 17, 2020 929.22 50 The Gray's Bay dam was opened yesterday afternoon and is discharging at 50 cfs. Water levels and dam operations will continue to be updated Mon, Wed, and Friday.

* Flow taken at McGinty Road because water levels were too high to measure at Gray's Bay dam

** Unofficial Lake Minnetonka water level reading due to ice still on the lake

You can view lake levels from 1906 to 2012 either as an Excel Spreadsheet or a graph.
Share This
  • Facebook logo
  • LinkedIn logo
  • Twitter logo