Geography
The headwaters of the Long Prairie River are in a region of numerous lakes north of Alexandria. It issues from Lake Carlos in Carlos Township in Douglas County, just south of Lake Carlos State Park and approximately 7 miles (11 km) north-northeast of Alexandria. Tributaries to Lake Carlos, which drain several lakes including Lake Darling, Lake Ida, Lake Miltona, and Geneva Lake, account for approximately a quarter of the Long Prairie River's watershed. The river initially flows eastwardly into Todd County; ditches in its upper course connect the river to Lake Osakis, which is the source of the Sauk River, thereby joining the two rivers' watersheds during periods of high water. At the city of Long Prairie the river turns north-northeastwardly, flowing past Browerville and through a state wildlife management area, into northwestern Morrison County, where it enters the Crow Wing River from the south in Motley Township, about a mile (2 km) southeast of Motley. Most of the river's watershed is within the North Central Hardwood Forest ecoregion, which is characterized by hardwood forests of maple and basswood mixed with conifers, on outwash plains and moraines amid flat glacial lakes.
According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, 41% of the Long Prairie River's watershed below Lake Carlos is used for agriculture; the main crops are potatoes, corn, soybeans and alfalfa. 24% of the watershed is grassland including pasture; 21% is forested; 10% is water or wetland; and 3% is urban or developed. Because the river's floodplain is wide and flat, land immediately adjacent to the river is predominantly agricultural or wetland. Agricultural use is not dominant along the upper (eastward) course of the river, which was historically covered by aspen and oak forest, wetlands, and tallgrass prairie; downstream of Browerville, farmland and second-growth forest are interspersed.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has identified the Long Prairie River as a route for canoeing. Fish species in the river include northern pike, walleye, smallmouth bass, and largemouth bass.
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