Our July 4th tradition continues in 2026. After assembling at the narrows, boats will circle the Big Bay, parade into East Arm, Steamboat and Hoist bays.

Big Mantrap Lake Association volunteers picked up trash along both sides of County Highway 24 on May 30 as part of BMLA’s Adopt-a-Highway commitment.

A new custom map is available to help boaters make informed decisions about where to use wake boats on Big Mantrap Lake.

Produced by Minnesota Lakes and Rivers, the map identifies in purple the areas where enhanced wake activities, such as wake surfing, are recommended to occur.

South Dakota businessman Dave Billion is the new owner of 3M’s former corporate retreat in northern Minnesota’s lakes country where Billion has vacationed for decades.

We currently have 32 eggs laid on 17 nests — 5 natural and 12 rafts. We have hopes for more nests in Porcupine, the River, Upper Deadhead and Steamboat Bay.

Here are some Mantrap news articles from various sources over the last couple of years.

Summer is the time for fun on the water.  It is also a good time to remember the DNR’s motto to “Own Your Wake, For Everyone’s Sake.”

Big Mantrap Lake just welcomed a batch of adorable new arrivals!

In 2025, for the third consecutive year, there were a total of 45 eggs laid on Big Mantrap. They were produced in 20 nesting territories – 14 rafts and six natural sites.

 Predators destroyed eggs on two rafts and two natural sites. In each case, the loons renested. The two that renested on the rafts were successful the second time while predators again found the natural nests.

 We had  25  eggs hatch for a nesting success of 55.55% and of those 25 chicks, 21 were still counted during our July census. By the August loon count, only 18 were accounted for.