265 acres, 87 feet deep, and clarity over 20 feet — among the clearest water in the Twin Cities metro, half an hour from downtown. Get matched with an agent who knows it.
Christmas Lake sits beside Lake Minnetonka near Shorewood and Excelsior in Hennepin County — small, exceptionally clear, and one of the most exclusive addresses in the metro. Spring-fed clarity and limited frontage make it highly coveted.
The market is high-end: a tight ring of premium homes where water clarity and the prestige location command some of the metro's top lakefront prices.
Summer is swimming in famously clear water and quiet boating, minutes from Minnetonka's amenities. Fall brings calm and color.
Winter is metro lake life — ice fishing and skating — with year-round homes and an easy commute, reopening at ice-out.
Typical property types: High-end residential lakefront, much of it elevated above the water on the bluff. Only four miles of shoreline on a lake this desirable means inventory is structurally scarce.
What drives price here: Clarity, privacy and proximity. Dock access matters unusually much here — whether a property has practical, level access to the water or requires a tram is a real value variable that doesn't show up on most metro lakes.
One superlative to be careful with. Christmas Lake is genuinely among the clearest lakes in the metro, and both DNR and association data support that. But "most expensive lake in the metro" is not independently corroborated — a widely-cited roundup of Minnesota's priciest lake-home markets named Minnetonka, White Bear, Pleasant, Harriet and Lower Prior, and did not include Christmas Lake. Lead with the clarity, which is verifiable. Don't claim the price crown.
About 265–267 acres with 4 miles of shoreline — small, and deliberately low-traffic.
Maximum depth is 87 feet, unusually deep for the acreage. The DNR baseline clarity is 20 feet and the homeowners association recorded 21.5 feet in July 2024 — among the clearest in the metro.
A combination of depth, spring-fed water, a sandy bottom, and deliberately limited public access — one city launch with parking capped by ordinance keeps boat traffic light.
Distinctive. A ridge roughly 90 feet high runs along the east shore, so many homes sit well above the water and use motorised carts or trams to reach their docks. Dock access is a real thing to evaluate here.
It's frequently described that way, but that specific claim isn't independently verified — a widely-cited roundup of Minnesota's priciest lake markets listed Minnetonka, White Bear, Pleasant, Harriet and Lower Prior, not Christmas Lake. What is verified is the clarity.
Northern pike, largemouth bass, bluegill and walleye. Rainbow trout were stocked historically but discontinued after 2016.
Zebra mussels, which were experimentally treated in 2014–2015, and Eurasian watermilfoil. A seasonal AIS inspection station operates at the launch.
Use the form on this page, or get matched with a local agent who can send them the day they hit MLS.
Whether you're buying your place on the water or thinking about selling, start with a local Christmas Lake specialist who knows this shoreline. It's free to get matched.
More lakes, the towns nearby, and the easiest ways to take a next step on Christmas Lake.
We'll match you with the right local specialist for your Christmas Lake move — free.