A Resort Town Built Around Its Lakes
Lake Elmo’s story starts with water. The lake at its center was originally named Bass Lake, known for its clean water and good fishing. In 1879, railroad promoter Alpheus B. Stickney renamed both the lake and the surrounding village Lake Elmo, inspired by the popular 1866 novel St. Elmo. The renaming worked. Lake Elmo grew into a popular summer resort town, drawing visitors out from St. Paul by rail to enjoy the water.
Nearby Sunfish Lake played its own role in the area’s early history. The very first settlers in the area, Bernard and Maria Cyphers, built a hotel and stagecoach stop called the Lake House just south of Sunfish Lake back in 1848, decades before Lake Elmo itself took its name.
Still Rural by Choice
Unlike many of its East Metro neighbors, Lake Elmo has deliberately resisted becoming a typical suburb. Much of the city remains farmland today, giving it a genuinely rural feel even as development continues around it. That choice hasn’t been without friction, the city fought and lost a legal battle with the Metropolitan Council over regional development requirements in 2005, but Lake Elmo has largely maintained its rural character since.
That said, growth has still arrived. Lake Elmo is now the fastest growing city in Minnesota, with population projected to exceed twenty one thousand residents by 2040, even while retaining more open space than most of its neighbors.
Lake Elmo’s Five Lakes
Water and open space define daily life in Lake Elmo, and the city is genuinely defined by its lakes. Beyond the namesake Lake Elmo, the city is home to Sunfish Lake, Lake Jane, Lake Olson, and Lake Demontreville, five lakes within a single small city, each offering its own character for fishing, paddling, and boating.
Lake Elmo Park Reserve spans more than two thousand one hundred acres on the western shore of Lake Elmo itself, with hiking and horseback riding trails, a beach, and space for camping, cross country skiing, and organized sports. Sunfish Lake Park adds another two hundred eighty four acres of native Minnesota wildflowers, grasses, and open space nearby.
Lake Jane is known for strong largemouth bass fishing and clear water well suited to kayaking, with wildlife sightings ranging from herons and swans to the occasional bald eagle. Lake Olson and Lake Demontreville are connected by a navigable channel, letting boaters and paddlers move between both lakes in a single outing, effectively two lakes for the price of one, and both are known locally for good bass fishing as well.
Where to Eat and Get Your Coffee in Lake Elmo
Lake Elmo Inn anchors the city’s dining scene as a genuine fine dining destination, in continuous operation since 1881 and known today for seasonal, chef driven menus, an award winning wine list, and a warm, upscale atmosphere that regularly draws diners in from across the Twin Cities for special occasions.
For a great breakfast, Gorman’s Restaurant is the local favorite, serving breakfast all day alongside classic comfort food, with a genuinely unique touch, the restaurant displays historical photos and artifacts from Lake Elmo’s past throughout the dining room, doubling as a small window into the city’s history. Twin Point Tavern, a family owned restaurant and bar on Stillwater Boulevard, has been a local fixture since 1984, known for burgers voted the best in the St. Croix Valley for four years running. For coffee, Sunshine Coffee Co. sits right in the heart of downtown Lake Elmo, a house roasted, community focused coffee shop that’s become a genuine local gathering spot.
What Types of Homes Will You Find in Lake Elmo?
Lake Elmo’s housing reflects its dual identity, rural and increasingly in demand. The city itself describes Lake Elmo as a community of communities, home to more than thirty distinct neighborhoods.
- The Royal Club, a luxury golf community built on the former Tartan Park Golf Course, where the front nine holes were designed by Annika Sorenstam and the back nine by Arnold Palmer, one of the most distinctive residential settings in the East Metro
- North Star, a Robert Thomas Homes community across the street from Lake Elmo Elementary, where the neighborhood clubhouse is housed in the historic North Star Farm dairy barn
- Wildflower, an award winning master planned neighborhood built on a sixty acre nature preserve with wetlands, rolling hills, and miles of trails
- Established homes throughout Lake Elmo's Old Village area, reflecting the city's roots as a resort and agricultural town
- Acreage properties and rural residential lots, still common given the city's intentionally low density approach to growth
Downtown Lake Elmo itself has grown into a genuine small town destination in its own right, with local shops and boutiques lining the streets alongside restaurants and services, giving residents somewhere to walk to rather than just drive past.
A Brand New Elementary School
Lake Elmo’s rapid growth just became visible in a very concrete way. A brand new Lake Elmo Elementary School has replaced the previous building, which was more than a century old and had reached capacity. The new school was built with room for eleven hundred students, specifically because Lake Elmo is the fastest growing city in Minnesota and enrollment was expected to keep climbing. It offers both a traditional English program and Amigos Unidos, an established dual language Spanish immersion option.
For families considering Lake Elmo, it’s a real, physical sign of the investment being made in the community as it grows, not just population numbers on a chart.
A Personal Connection to Lake Elmo
Lake Elmo holds a personal place for Jason that goes back long before real estate. Growing up nearby, he fell in love with the area as a kid, drawn to the lakes and the rural, unhurried feel that still defines Lake Elmo today. A childhood friend lived on Lake Olson, and visiting there only deepened that connection, Jason imagined someday living on one of the lakes himself.
That kind of connection shapes how Jason talks with clients about Lake Elmo. It isn’t just a market he covers, it’s a place he genuinely understands from the inside, having watched it grow while still holding onto the character that made it special in the first place.
How Lake Elmo Compares to Nearby Communities
Buyers drawn to Lake Elmo are often also considering Stillwater, Woodbury, or Oakdale during the same search, since all four sit within a similar distance of the Twin Cities core. Lake Elmo differentiates itself with its intentionally rural character and direct lake access, offering more open space and a quieter feel than Woodbury’s more built out suburban pace, while still keeping many of the same conveniences within a short drive.
Why Homeowners Are Drawn to Lake Elmo
Lake Elmo offers something increasingly rare in the East Metro, real rural character within a genuinely convenient commuting distance of the Twin Cities.
- Five lakes within city limits, offering fishing, paddling, and boating close to home
- Lake Elmo Park Reserve, more than two thousand acres of trails, beach, and open space
- A deliberately maintained rural feel, uncommon for a city this close to St. Paul
- Status as the fastest growing city in Minnesota, backed by real investment like the new elementary school
- A mix of established homes, rural acreage, and newer planned neighborhoods like Wildflower, North Star, and The Royal Club
Local Knowledge That Comes From Working This Market
Lake Elmo is part of the broader East Metro and Washington County market Jason has worked in for more than two decades, giving him practical, firsthand familiarity with how Lake Elmo’s rural character and rapid growth compare to the surrounding communities.