In my read of this market, working the north metro lake corridor for 15+ years, White Bear Lake sits in the top tier of Twin Cities lake pricing alongside Lake Minnetonka and Prior Lake. If those two are the state's most recognized luxury lake markets, White Bear Lake is the crown jewel of the northern lakes, the closest thing this side of the metro has to that same tier of shoreline demand.
At 2,427 acres with a maximum depth of 83 feet, White Bear Lake spans Ramsey and Washington counties and includes the communities of White Bear Lake, Dellwood, Mahtomedi, White Bear Township, and Birchwood Village. It's big enough to support real boating and open water, and deep enough that it holds its water quality and temperature better than most metro lakes its size.
What it actually costs to get in today
Honestly, it's gotten hard to find a lot on the Mahtomedi shoreline, along Park Avenue, Tamarack Street, Wildwood Beach Road, and Birchwood Road, under $900,000. A 2,631-square-foot home on Park Avenue closed at $670,000 earlier in this data set, and that number is a useful marker of where this market has come from, not where it sits today. Based on closings from 2021 through 2026, the realistic entry point on this corridor has climbed close to double what it was at the start of that window.
That kind of appreciation is worth sitting with if you're budgeting off an old number. If a Mahtomedi-side lake home was on your radar a few years ago at a price in the $600,000s or $700,000s, that price point has largely moved on. Today, plan on the entry point sitting closer to $900,000 to $1,000,000, and moving up quickly from there for anything with more square footage, a larger lot, or recent updates.
Mahtomedi Avenue itself: the lifestyle piece
Mahtomedi Avenue is downtown, a few blocks of local restaurants, coffee, and small shops that give the Mahtomedi side of the lake its own walkable center. The Wildwood Tavern at 80 Mahtomedi Avenue serves salads, soups, and sandwiches in a casual setting. Ox and Crow Coffeehouse at 88 Mahtomedi Avenue is the local coffee stop. Forster's Dugout at 96 Mahtomedi Avenue rounds it out with pub food and a full bar.
For groceries, ALDI has a full store at 750 Wildwood Road in Mahtomedi itself. For a larger full-service grocery store, Festival Foods on East County Road E in White Bear Lake is the closest option, a short drive from the Mahtomedi side of the lake.
Around the rest of the lake, dining options include Aqua Restaurant, Tally's Dockside, Washington Square Bar & Grill, and Admiral D's Waterfront Tavern, along with 7 Vines Vineyard nearby for something a little different.
Why this lifestyle matters to relocating buyers
If you're relocating to the Twin Cities and looking at White Bear Lake, the draw isn't just the water, it's that you get a real downtown, real restaurants, a grocery store, and a lake community that doesn't feel like a subdivision with a pond behind it. That's rare within 20 minutes of downtown St. Paul. Families relocating here are typically choosing between the top school districts serving the lake (Mahtomedi and White Bear Lake Area Schools) and weighing that against commute distance into St. Paul or Minneapolis, both of which are reasonable from this side of the metro.
Why this lifestyle matters to local buyers
If you already live in the Twin Cities and you're moving up to White Bear Lake from an inland home, you're not just buying square footage on the water. You're buying into a lake with genuine boating culture, an active yacht club and country club presence on the Dellwood side, and a downtown corridor on the Mahtomedi side that gives you somewhere to walk to. That combination is a big part of why this lake holds value the way it does.
Quick Answers
Is White Bear Lake one of the most expensive lakes in the Twin Cities? In my professional assessment, based on 15+ years working this corridor, yes. White Bear Lake ranks among the top tier of Twin Cities lake markets alongside Lake Minnetonka and Prior Lake.
How big is White Bear Lake and how deep does it get? 2,427 acres with a maximum depth of 83 feet, spanning Ramsey and Washington counties.
Is Mahtomedi Avenue on the lake? No. Mahtomedi Avenue is the downtown business district in Mahtomedi, a few blocks from the shoreline. The lakefront homes on the Mahtomedi side sit on Park Avenue, Tamarack Street, Wildwood Beach Road, and Birchwood Road.
Is there a grocery store near White Bear Lake? ALDI has a full store in Mahtomedi at 750 Wildwood Road. Festival Foods, a larger full-service grocery store, is a short drive away on East County Road E in White Bear Lake.
What's the entry-level price for the Mahtomedi side of White Bear Lake? Realistically, $900,000 to $1,000,000 today. Prices at this end of the market have climbed close to double what they were in 2021.
This reflects closed sales over the past 2,000 days (January 2021 through July 13, 2026).
I live one lake over, on Centerville Lake, and I track White Bear Lake's numbers the same way I track my own. My closed transactions run through the surrounding corridor, Bald Eagle Lake, Turtle Lake, Centerville Lake, Forest Lake, Reshanau Lake, and Sunfish Lake, with Bald Eagle Lake being the strongest part of my business. I haven't closed a sale on White Bear Lake itself yet. There are good agents who specialize here, and I respect that. What I bring is the same data discipline I use on my home lakes, applied to this one, and I'm actively building toward representing buyers and sellers on this shoreline because it earns the attention. If you're relocating to the Twin Cities or already local and considering a move to White Bear Lake, I'm glad to walk you through the real numbers before you start touring.
Best,
Tim Ornell Waterfront Real Estate Advisor | Ornell Group Real Broker, LLC — Luxury Division (NASDAQ: REAX) Minnesota Real Estate License #40442506 651.263.9480 | ornellgroup.com 7037 20th Ave S, Suite 200, Centerville, MN 55038 Specializing in Twin Cities, MN waterfront properties and relocations.
