The Magic of Lake McCarrons

When I first discovered Lake McCarrons in my home state of Minnesota, I was around 17 or 18 years old. It was a holiday, and my mom, sisters, and brother were gathered around the barbecue tables, waiting for the food to be done. Lake McCarrons was right up the street from where I lived at the time. I liked the atmosphere and how the sun always sets where you can see it.

The morning is the best time to go. In the winter, the cold air rushes to your nostrils, making it hard for you to breathe but easy to have the best “I’m okay and everything will be fine” conversations with yourself.

The houses around the lake make you wish you had one, especially since they are almost done building the new ones. Lake homes are beautiful, by the way.

A park and a picnic area for family and gatherings, alone time with the kids, or by yourself makes it ten times better than it being just a lake. When I go to this lake, I enjoy the walking path that leads you to the other side to the end of the lake. 

There, my imagination gets wider from all the things I wish I had. But quickly, I am brought back to being thankful for what I already have. I wish that I could afford a home for my mom to be comfortable in or a boat for holidays where all my family can gather and share happy memories while on the water. 

The air surrounding the water leads me to feelings of gratitude for what I have, because although it’s not a lake home, my mom does have a home; she gets around perfectly with my sister’s car or mine for the time being.

The lake is in the city with a street full of people driving by. City lights, restaurants, the liquor store and the Dairy Queen fast food joint are right across the street from each other.

The lake isn’t huge, but it feels big; it is 74 acres in size and 57 feet deep. It is mainly a single-family home area with mostly residential housing, while the rest is a public recreation area with picnic facilities and a large playground.

The sand of McCarrons is dark gray. Are the beautiful sounds of differently colored birds and overall quietness the best part of visiting it? These are inspiring, but they’re not my main reason for loving it. Hardly anyone seems to go to this lake and that’s what I like the most about it: the solitude.

The park at the lake brings me joy and hope. As I kick one foot off the ground and the other one follows into the air, I am making myself go faster and faster as I enjoy any kind of weather. There’s even wind blowing in my face while I look at the lake water as I’m doing so.

I would go in the mornings because for me, it was the best time to go. In the summer, the wind did the same thing but this time it wasn’t always windy. The heat of the humidity felt like a hand being put over your mouth telling you to hush. 

I don’t know which one is more difficult to breathe in, the winter or the summer, but the hot summer days brought more flavor and more excitement; everything blossomed the right way, and even if things were dead elsewhere, they were alive there. That is the beauty in the summertime at McCarrons Lake. I always travel by car when I go, not just to walk around, but also to catch the sunset or sunrise. It is breathtaking.

I have learned to love the lake through my difficulties of feeling down and stressed about where I am, where I’m supposed to be, and where I should be. It has been the best experience.

Today, I hear there are 10,000 lakes here. I hope to experience them all.

Thank you to Johana Htwe and Brooklyn Riepma for their inspired edit on this piece and everyone else on the Lifestyle & Relationships team.

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