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Traverse Lake
Nat'l Recreation Area

Traverse Lake

United States

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We display cached information from agency feeds. Hours, fees, permits, closures, fire restrictions, and conditions change without notice. Outdoors is not the permitting authority. Confirm current conditions for this park using the links above before you go — you are responsible for compliance. Last verified by us: May 20, 2026. Spot an error in our data?

About

Imported description
The Lake Traverse Project is a multipurpose project located on the Minnesota ? South Dakota border. The project consists of two dams, one dike and two lakes, Traverse and Mud. The main purpose of the project is to control flooding along the northward flowing Bois de Souix River, which joins the Ottertail River to become the Red River of the North. The significant feature of the project is the Browns Valley Dike on the south end of Lake Traverse, keeping it separate from Big Stone Lake. The dike sits on the continental divide, which marks the outlet of Glacial Lake Agassiz. Waters on the north side of the dike flow into Hudson?s Bay, and on the south, waters flow into the Minnesota River and on to the Mississippi River.

Source: recreation.gov

From Wikipedia

Lake Traverse is an 11,200-acre (4,500 ha) lake along the border between the U.S. states of Minnesota and South Dakota, and is the southernmost body of water in the Hudson Bay watershed of North America. Lake Traverse is drained at its north end by the northward-flowing Bois de Sioux River, a tributary of the Red River of the North. A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dam at the outflow regulates the lake's level. The Mustinka River flows into the lake just above the dam.

Source: Wikipedia — text licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Verify alerts and operational details with the managing agency below.

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Hunting in this park

Hunting is generally prohibited in this National Park Service unit

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