What to Pack for a Minnesota Lake Day: A Practical Checklist

A Minnesota lake day needs more than a towel and a cooler. The four things that reliably spoil one are mosquitoes, ticks, sunburn and a thunderstorm nobody saw coming, and each of them is handled by something small you put in the bag beforehand. The checklist is at the bottom. The reasoning comes first, because it tells you what you can skip.

Mosquitoes

Minnesota has dozens of mosquito species, and from June through August at least one of them is looking for you. They are worst at dawn and dusk, in still air, in shade and near wetlands. On an open, breezy beach at midday you may see none. Twenty feet into the trees at 8:30 p.m. is another matter.

Mosquitoes here are mostly a nuisance, but not entirely. The Minnesota Department of Health tracks West Nile virus, La Crosse virus and Jamestown Canyon virus in the state, and identifies July through September as the period of highest disease risk. The mosquito that carries West Nile bites mainly at dusk and dawn. The one that carries La Crosse bites during the day in wooded areas.

What to pack:

• Repellent. MDH recommends EPA-registered products: up to 30 percent DEET, which it considers safe for adults and children over two months, or picaridin, IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus. Follow the label.
• Long sleeves and pants for evening. Light-colored, loose and tightly woven. This is what locals actually do at the campfire.
• A head net if you are heading to the Boundary Waters or anywhere up north in June. It weighs nothing and you will not regret it.
• Anti-itch cream for the bites that get through.

Citronella candles and wristbands do little. A breeze does a lot, so pick the windy side of the lake for your picnic.

The other biters

• Black flies peak in late May and June near rivers and streams in the north. They go for the hairline and behind the ears.
• Deer flies and horse flies show up in July on sunny days and circle your head on trails and in boats. Repellent barely discourages them. A hat helps.
• Stable flies, the ankle biters on beaches and in boats, come and go with the wind direction. Long pants or socks are the only real answer.

Ticks

This is the one with real consequences. Blacklegged ticks, commonly called deer ticks, carry Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and other illnesses. The Minnesota Department of Health says they are found throughout most of the wooded parts of the state, in brushy and forested areas. That includes much of the Brainerd Lakes country, the St. Croix valley, and north-central and east-central Minnesota.

The timing overlaps badly with lake season. Adults are most active in spring and fall. The nymphs, which are about the size of a poppy seed and responsible for most infections, are most active from mid May through mid July.

You do not pick up ticks on the beach or on mown grass. You pick them up on the path to the fishing spot, at the wooded campsite, and walking the dog along the brushy shoreline.

What to pack and do:

• Repellent. DEET up to 30 percent works on ticks as well as mosquitoes. MDH also suggests permethrin, applied to clothing and gear only and never to skin, especially for people who are in the woods often.
• Long pants tucked into socks for walks through brush. Light colors make ticks easier to spot.
• Fine-tipped tweezers. To remove a tick, grasp it close to the skin by the head and pull outward slowly and steadily, then wash the spot with soap and water.
• A tick check at day's end. MDH advises checking at least once a day, over the whole body, with attention to hard-to-see spots such as behind the knees and the groin. Shower when you get in. Check kids' scalps and check the dog.

The reassuring part: according to MDH, a tick must stay attached for one to two days before it can transmit the Lyme disease bacteria. Find it that evening and you have very likely prevented the problem. If a rash or fever develops in the following weeks, see a health care provider and mention the bite.

Sun

Water reflects sunlight back at you, a breeze hides how much you are getting, and a Minnesota June day lasts more than fifteen hours. People who would never burn in the backyard burn in a boat.

• Sunscreen, broad spectrum, SPF 30 or higher, water resistant. Reapply after swimming and every couple of hours. Do the tops of feet, ears and the back of the neck.
• A brimmed hat that will stay on in wind, or one with a strap.
• Polarized sunglasses. They cut the glare and let you see rocks and weeds under the surface. Put a retainer strap on them.
• A long-sleeved sun shirt. Easier than sunscreen for kids who are in and out of the water all day, and it doubles as some protection against swimmer's itch.
• Shade. Many beaches and nearly all boat accesses have none. A pop-up shelter or umbrella is worth the trunk space.
• Water. More than you think. Alcohol and sun together dehydrate people quickly.

Sudden storms

Summer thunderstorms in Minnesota typically build in the afternoon and evening and arrive from the west or southwest, often with a sharp wind shift ahead of the rain. On a big lake such as Mille Lacs, Leech or Lake of the Woods, that wind can raise dangerous waves within minutes, and the far shore is a long way off.

• Check the forecast and radar before you leave and again at midday. A phone weather app with alerts enabled is the most useful safety item you already own.
• Watch the western sky. Towering, darkening clouds and a sudden cool wind mean it is time to go in.
• If you hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck. Get off the water and off the beach. Shelter in an enclosed building or a hard-topped vehicle. Tents, picnic shelters and trees do not count.
• Do not race a storm across open water. Go to the nearest safe shore and wait.
• Carry a rain shell and a dry bag with a warm layer. Soaked and windblown at 65 degrees is how people become hypothermic in July.

In the Boundary Waters and Voyageurs there is no building or vehicle to retreat to. Get off the water, away from the tallest trees and off exposed points.

Water-specific items

• Life jackets. State law requires a wearable, Coast Guard approved life jacket for every person aboard any watercraft, paddleboards included, and children under 10 must wear one while underway. See life jacket law and boating safety. Bring them for weak swimmers on the beach too, since most beaches have no lifeguard.
• Water shoes. Zebra mussel shells are sharp and now common on swimming lakes in central Minnesota. Rocky northern shorelines are hard on bare feet as well.
• A towel per person, used immediately. Rubbing dry right out of the water is the main defense against swimmer's itch.
• Clean water for the dog, and a look at the shoreline before letting the dog in. Green, paint-like scum means blue-green algae, which can kill a dog within hours.
• A dry bag or zip bag for phone and keys.

If you are trailering a boat, remember that the drain plug has to come out before you leave the access. See clean, drain, dispose.

The checklist

Always

• Drinking water and food in a cooler
• Sunscreen, hat, sunglasses
• EPA-registered insect repellent
• Towels, swimsuits, change of dry clothes
• Warm layer and rain shell
• Phone in a waterproof pouch, with weather alerts on
• Small first-aid kit with tweezers and anti-itch cream
• Trash bag. Many accesses have no garbage service.

For the water

• Life jacket for each person, sized to fit
• Water shoes
• Dry bag
• Whistle for each paddler

For the woods and evening

• Long pants and long sleeves
• Head net in June up north
• Flashlight or headlamp

For fishing

• License. See Minnesota fishing license.
• Pliers, and a jug of tap water if you plan to take leftover minnows home

Often forgotten

• Cash or a card for parking and state park vehicle permits
• Shade shelter and folding chairs
• Toilet paper and hand sanitizer for vault toilets
• Clean water and a bowl for the dog

Before you go

• Repellent and a nightly tick check deal with the two things most likely to follow you home.
• Check radar before you launch and leave the water at the first thunder.
• Life jackets, drinking water and sun protection are not optional extras. Everything else on the list is comfort.

Looking for somewhere to use all this? Try the lakes near me tool or the trip planner.