Big Lake, MN (CDP)

Big Lake is a Carlton County census-designated place in Perch Lake Township, where the 2020 census counted 464 residents. This is the Big Lake west of Cloquet, set along the lake that gives the community its name. Big Lake Road, Mission Road, and Cary Road carry local traffic through a landscape of shoreline homes, forest, and nearby lakes. Perch Lake Township lies within the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation, adding an important layer to the community’s setting.

The water shapes everyday life here: fishing, boating, camping, and seasonal work all follow the shoreline. School boundaries divide the CDP between Carlton School District and Cloquet School District, while Cloquet supplies the closest larger service center. The township’s roads and lake access make Big Lake part of a broader Carlton County pattern of small rural settlements tied to nearby towns. This place is the wooded lakeside CDP west of Cloquet, where households are spread across a reservation landscape and the shoreline remains the main local reference point.