Middle cormorant beach
Lake Park, Minnesota · on Middle Cormorant Lake
Verified · 3 independent sources · top-verified
- WATER
- lake
- ACCESS
- See details below
- FEE
- Free
- SEASON
- Best in summer
About Middle cormorant beach
Middle Cormorant Beach is a county-managed public swimming beach on the eastern shore of Middle Cormorant Lake, on County Highway 5 in southwestern Becker County, Minnesota, near Lake Park and roughly 40 minutes east of Fargo-Moorhead. It is officially listed by Becker County Parks and Recreation as 'Middle Cormorant Lake Public Beach,' with public restrooms but no lifeguard. The beach was restored in 2018 by the county and the Becker Soil & Water Conservation District, replacing an informal gravel lot with three buoy-marked sandy swim zones, a paved parking area, a picnic shelter, a rain garden, and native plantings. Middle Cormorant is a groundwater-seepage lake (no inflow or outflow) with a maximum depth around 40 feet.
The beach sits on the eastern shore of Middle Cormorant Lake, one of the Cormorant Lakes chain in Becker County's lake country, southwest of Detroit Lakes near Lake Park. Following a 2018 county/SWCD restoration, the site has a grassed county-park landscape with a paved parking lot, a picnic pavilion, a rain garden, native plantings, and coconut-coir erosion-control logs along the shoreline, replacing a previously bare gravel lakefront. A separate DNR public water access/boat ramp is located on the lake's western shore.
Swimming at Middle cormorant beach
The beach has three distinct sandy swimming zones marked off by buoys, per the 2018 county restoration; there is no lifeguard on duty. Locals describe it as the lake's most popular spot for swimming, sunbathing, and launching kayaks or canoes, with calm lake water; the lake also supports motorized recreation (pontoons, jet skis, water skiing), so it is a multi-use recreational lake beach rather than a secluded natural swimming hole.
How to get to this swimming hole
Located on County Highway 5 on the eastern shore of Middle Cormorant Lake in southwestern Becker County, Minnesota, near Lake Park and about 40 minutes' drive east of Fargo, ND.
Parking: A paved on-site parking lot was added during the 2018 county restoration; before that, parking was an unorganized gravel area where vehicles could pull up dangerously close to swimmers.
The walk in
No real hike here. The water is a short walk from where you park. Drive-up county beach: the paved parking lot sits directly on the shoreline off County Hwy 5, so it's a walk of well under a minute from car to sand. No trail or hike is involved.
Plan your visit
Bringing kids
OK with supervision
The 2018 restoration created three buoy-marked sandy swim zones with gentle lake-beach entry, which suits young kids, but there is no lifeguard on duty (per Becker County's official listing) and Middle Cormorant is a multi-use lake that also carries pontoon, jet-ski, speed-boat and water-ski traffic outside the buoys, so adult supervision and staying within the marked zones matters.
Parking
Free
Paved on-site parking lot directly off County Highway 5, built during the 2018 county/SWCD restoration (it replaced an unorganized gravel area where cars had parked dangerously close to swimmers). No fee schedule is published for this or comparable Becker County beaches.
Restrooms
Yes
Public restrooms on-site at the beach, added/maintained as part of the county park facilities (confirmed by Becker County's official beach listing and the 2018 Detroit Lakes Tribune restoration article); the fixture type (flush vs. vault) is not specified by any source found.
On the water
A real-estate/lake-info source (lakehomes.com) describes Middle Cormorant Beach itself as 'a comfortable place to put in a kayak or canoe.' The lake overall also supports motorized recreation -- pontoons, jet skis, speed boats, bass boats and water-skiing -- per the same source, but trailered/motorized boats appear to launch from a separate DNR-managed public water access (boat ramp) on the lake's western shore rather than from this beach; the three sandy swim zones here are marked off with buoys specifically to keep swimmers separated from that boat traffic. No official no-wake, electric-only, or horsepower restriction was found for the lake.
Backstory
Per Becker County Commissioner Barry Nelson (Detroit Lakes Tribune, 2018), the site 'has been a public beach for as long as I can remember,' and was once used for community/school swim lessons before the local area built a pool. By the mid-2010s it had degraded into an unorganized gravel lakefront lot with safety problems (vehicles parking too close to swimmers) and shoreline erosion. In 2018, Becker County purchased/funded improvements via its Recreation Fund, and the Becker Soil & Water Conservation District led a restoration -- with grants from the Minnesota DNR, the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, and the Clean Water Land & Legacy Fund -- that added three marked sandy swim zones, a paved parking lot, a picnic shelter, public restrooms, a rain garden, native plantings, and erosion-control coir logs.
Middle cormorant beach: FAQ
Does Middle cormorant beach charge a fee?
No entrance fee is listed on Becker County's official swimming-beaches page for this or the county's other public beaches; it functions as a free county-managed public beach.
Is Middle cormorant beach kid friendly?
The 2018 restoration created three buoy-marked sandy swim zones with gentle lake-beach entry, which suits young kids, but there is no lifeguard on duty (per Becker County's official listing) and Middle Cormorant is a multi-use lake that also carries pontoon, jet-ski, speed-boat and water-ski traffic outside the buoys, so adult supervision and staying within the marked zones matters.
Do I need to hike to reach Middle cormorant beach?
No significant hike is required. The swimming area is close to parking and access.
Where do I park for Middle cormorant beach?
Paved on-site parking lot directly off County Highway 5, built during the 2018 county/SWCD restoration (it replaced an unorganized gravel area where cars had parked dangerously close to swimmers). No fee schedule is published for this or comparable Becker County beaches.
Can I bring a kayak or paddleboard to Middle cormorant beach?
A real-estate/lake-info source (lakehomes.com) describes Middle Cormorant Beach itself as 'a comfortable place to put in a kayak or canoe.' The lake overall also supports motorized recreation -- pontoons, jet skis, speed boats, bass boats and water-skiing -- per the same source, but trailered/motorized boats appear to launch from a separate DNR-managed public water access (boat ramp) on the lake's western shore rather than from this beach; the three sandy swim zones here are marked off with buoys specifically to keep swimmers separated from that boat traffic. No official no-wake, electric-only, or horsepower restriction was found for the lake.
When is the best time to visit Middle cormorant beach?
Summer is the primary season, consistent with typical Minnesota lake swimming (roughly Memorial Day through Labor Day); a July 27, 2018 local news report described the restored beach as already busy with swimmers on hot days.
What are the rules at Middle cormorant beach?
No lifeguard is on duty (per the official Becker County listing), so swimming is at one's own risk. The three sandy swim zones are marked off with buoys to separate them from boat traffic on this multi-use lake.
What water body is Middle cormorant beach on?
Middle cormorant beach is on Middle Cormorant Lake, a natural lake verified in USGS hydrography data.
