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Browns Bay on Lake Minnetonkathe tucked-in estate shore

Drive the point between Wayzata and Browns Bay and read the street signs: Peavey, Pillsbury, Ferndale, Highcroft. Those are what's left of the estates that once lined this shore, and the bay still has that wooded, tucked-in feel, a few minutes from downtown Wayzata.

Geoffrey Serdar

Good to know

• SunFrom the marina on Shoreline Drive the open bay lies east, so you get sunrise over the water. The west-facing Ferndale and Lookout Point shores get the sunset across the bay.
• WaterAbout 648 acres, 3.05 miles of shoreline, 88 feet at its deepest. Musky, walleye, pike, bass and panfish.
• Hidden waterPeavey Lake connects through a narrow channel under Ferndale Road.
• HistoryNamed for early settler James B. Brown. Bracketts Point, once called Starvation Point, held the Pillsbury Southways estate. Frank Peavey's Highcroft covered about 110 acres with a working dairy farm, and James J. Hill set up a rail stop at Ferndale for it.
• IceLake-wide ice-out median is April 13. In 2026 the ice went out April 3.

What homes here ask and sell for

ASK means a list price, not a sale. Sales are public records or reported sales, shown with their date. Nothing here predicts future prices. See the most expensive homes on the lake and this week's closed sales.

Getting on the water

Brown's Bay Marina on Shoreline Drive offers annual slip leases, fuel and boat club rentals. More: Lake access and boat slips and the Lost Lake slip guide.

Where to eat and stop

• Downtown Wayzata, Lake Street is a few minutes by car or boat. See the Wayzata Bay page.

Towns on the bay

OronoWayzata

Questions people ask

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