The BMLA foraging hike and potluck lunch scheduled for July 8 at Laura Barta and Ted Jastrzebski’s cabin in Steamboat Bay has been canceled. Due to a scheduling conflict, the hike will be rescheduled for next summer.

Big Mantrap Lake’s loon nesting program recently earned national recognition. Our volunteer program received the 2025 John Muir Resource Preservation Award.

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. This map identifies in purple the areas where enhanced wake activities, such as wake surfing, are recommended to occur.

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

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.

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.”

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.