The closest big walleye lake to the Twin Cities, with smallmouth and muskie too.
Free printable map (PDF) ↓
Download the free printable map (PDF) ↓Draft map. Depth bands where a public survey exists; each map has its own scale bar.
Where: Central Minnesota
Size: about 132,500 acres
Access: Drive-to, 1¾ hours from Minneapolis; many resorts and public accesses.
Deepest: 42 ft
Average depth: ?
Species to target: Walleye, northern pike
Walleye limit (US angler): 3 (2026); 17 in minimum, only 1 over 20 in
Typical ice-out: about April 25 (median)
Who else is on the water: about 15 resorts listed
Size (acres)
Sydney & Kilburn: about 17,570 (Sydney 14,240 with the Sturgeon River + Kilburn 3,330)
Mille Lacs: about 132,500
Boats on an average summer day
Sydney & Kilburn: 10 ✓
Mille Lacs: 462
Acres per boat
Sydney & Kilburn: 1,760 ✓
Mille Lacs: 290
Rough-water days a season
Sydney & Kilburn: 1.7 (Kilburn 0) ✓
Mille Lacs: 31.1
Sheltered water
Sydney & Kilburn: 75% ✓
Mille Lacs: 10%
Walleye a US angler may keep each day
Sydney & Kilburn: 2, both 18 in or under ✓
Mille Lacs: 3 (2026); 17 in minimum, only 1 over 20 in
Clearest summer water
Sydney & Kilburn: 26 ft ✓
Mille Lacs: 12 ft
Deepest spot
Sydney & Kilburn: 240 ft (Kilburn 213 ft) ✓
Mille Lacs: 42 ft
Cisco (tullibee)
Sydney & Kilburn: ●
Mille Lacs: declining
Whitefish
Sydney & Kilburn: ●
Mille Lacs: ?
Free of invasive smelt
Sydney & Kilburn: ●
Mille Lacs: ?
Mayfly mud flats
Sydney & Kilburn: ●
Mille Lacs: ●
Disturbances on or upstream (of 6)
Sydney & Kilburn: 0 ✓
Mille Lacs: 2
Typical ice-out
Sydney & Kilburn: about May 5
Mille Lacs: about April 25 (median)
Hours from Minneapolis
Sydney & Kilburn: 7 h drive + 0.5 h flight
Mille Lacs: 1.75 h drive ✓
Who else is on the water
Sydney & Kilburn: 1 lodge, 0 cottages
Mille Lacs: about 15 resorts listed
✓ marks the better value. ? means we couldn’t find accurate data or a close estimate. We’ve made every effort to be accurate, but some figures are estimates and there may be errors or gaps. How we measured
