Monroe Lake

MU 4-5, Kootenays
49.3647° N, 115.8650° W

WaterTraced road inRoadRough surface roadRec siteShoreline from the BC Freshwater Atlas, roads from the BC Digital Road Atlas, under the Open Government Licence, British Columbia. Rec site position from BC Recreation Sites and Trails, checked 9 September 2026. The lake's depth is not drawn on this map.

Surface area: 54.3ha
Maximum depth: 30.8m; 101 ft. Province survey, 1961
Elevation: 1,065m
Campsites: 4; At Monroe Lake rec site

Open Monroe Lake in the appThe 7-day forecast, max depth and wildfire smoke check, on the lake's own coordinate.

Monroe Lake at a glance

Region: Kootenays
Management unit: MU 4-5
Species: Westslope Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout, Kokanee, Cutthroat/Rainbow cross (last recorded 1968)The newest of these fish records is from 2026.Species from the province's fish observation records.
Lake size: Medium Lake (50 - 500 ha)
Ice fishing: Open to ice fishing, confirmed
Coordinates: 49.3647, -115.865

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Fish on record at Monroe Lake

Species in the Province's fish observation records
Species	First recorded	Last recorded	Records
Rainbow Trout	1920	2025	91
Kokanee	2000	2026	32
Cutthroat/Rainbow cross	1929	1968	6

A year is when the Province last recorded the fish here, not a statement that it is caught today.

How to fish Monroe Lake

Best times of year at Monroe Lake

May - June
September - October

Monroe Lake fishing regulations

Yellow perch daily quota = unlimited. Source: Province of British Columbia

Getting to Monroe Lake

3.4 km of traced road to the campground by way of Monroe Lake Rd. The road at the end is a paved surface.

The route traced over the BC Digital Road Atlas. A trace is a line on a map, not a report on the road: check conditions before you drive it.

Coordinates: 49.3647, -115.865

Camping and rec sites at Monroe Lake

Monroe Lake
Campsites
4 designated
To the shore
51 m

Access: Commencing at the south end of Cranbrook, at the junction of Jimsmith Lake Road and Hwy 3/95, proceed 17 km south on Hwy 3/95 to the Monroe Lake Road (also the turnoff to Moyie Lake Provincial Park). Turn right (west) onto the Monroe Lake Road. Follow this road for 0.6 km. At the 0.6 km, take the right fork and continue along the Monroe Lake Road for another 2.4 km.
Coordinates: 49.362469, -115.859916
The site on Recreation Sites and Trails BC

Depth chart for Monroe Lake

30.8 mdeepest12.8 mmean

Monroe Lake runs to 30.8 m (101 ft) at its deepest, by the Province survey, 1961.

The mean of 12.8 m (42 ft) is read off the same chart, surveyed in February 1961.

The Province sounded Monroe Lake and published the depth chart surveyed in 1961.

Depth chart (PDF)

The ice year at Monroe Lake, modelled

Modelled from air temperature, not an ice report. It says nothing about whether ice will hold you.

In the model Monroe Lake froze in 65 of the 65 winters since 1960. Freeze-up falls most years between 7 November and 24 November, and ice-off between 10 April and 2 May. The median winter freezes on 16 November and opens on 22 April.

the middle half of modelled winters the median ice cover in the median winter

Winter 2024-25 in the model: frozen from 24 November 2024 to 9 April 2025, 136 days.

Monroe Lake is open to ice fishing under the regulations on file.

Whether a lake is open to ice fishing says nothing about whether its ice will hold you. Ice conditions vary year to year and across a single lake. Check locally before going out, every time.

Monroe Lake climate, 1960 to 2025

Averaged over a year, the air above Monroe Lake is 0.8 C warmer than it was in the 1960s. That is 66 years of daily readings, not a forecast.

+0.8 Csince the 1960s
1.3 Caverage year now
0.5 Caverage year then
-7 daysbelow freezing, change

Average year at Monroe Lakedegrees C, yearly mean

each yearthe trend across 1960 to 2025

Days below freezingdays a year averaging under 0 C

each yearthe trend across 1960 to 2025

This week at Monroe Lake

The forecast on this lake's own coordinate, refreshed through the day. The app reads these seven days for fishing and scores each one.

Day	Sky	High / low	Wind	Rain	Pressure
Tue 20 Oct	Clear sky	14° / 7°	5 km/h	dry	Steady
Wed 21 Oct	Partly cloudy	18° / 5°	13 km/h, gusts 33	dry	Falling (-3.8 hPa)
Thu 22 Oct	Overcast	17° / 6°	12 km/h	dry	Falling (-4.9 hPa)
Fri 23 Oct	Overcast	10° / 5°	13 km/h, gusts 51	dry	Rising (+1.5 hPa)
Sat 24 Oct	Overcast	11° / 3°	12 km/h, gusts 29	dry	Rising (+12.0 hPa)
Sun 25 Oct	Overcast	7° / 1°	10 km/h, gusts 53	dry	Rising (+4.5 hPa)
Mon 26 Oct	Clear sky	7° / -1°	5 km/h, gusts 24	dry	Rising (+4.6 hPa)

Open Monroe Lake in the app

Monroe Lake, in brief

What fish are in Monroe Lake?

Westslope Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout, Kokanee, Cutthroat/Rainbow cross (last recorded 1968). Species from the province's fish observation records.

Which management unit is Monroe Lake in?

Monroe Lake is in MU 4-5, in the Kootenays. The BC Freshwater Fishing Regulations Synopsis is organised by management unit; check it before you go.

Trout lakes near Monroe Lake

Mineral Lake 2 km away
Hiawatha Lake 3 km away
Moyie Lake 6 km away
Palmer Bar Lake 11 km away
Jim Smith Lake 13 km away

All 162 lakes in the Kootenays, with today's conditions on each.