Editing Big Lake, Minnesota (section)

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|2.92|sqmi|sqkm|2}}; {{convert|2.11|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|0.81|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is water.<ref name="Gazetteer files">{{cite web |title=US Gazetteer files 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=2012-11-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112090031/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |archive-date=January 12, 2012 }}</ref>  A portion of the city lies along the [[Elk River (Minnesota)|Elk River]].

Located about forty-one miles northwest of the [[Minneapolis–Saint Paul|Twin Cities]], Big Lake was once a popular location for escapes from the city, its lakes dotted with summer cabins.  Now it is considered an [[exurb]] of the metro area,<ref name="NorthStar Exurb">{{cite news|last=Ihnen|first=Alex|title=NORTHSTAR COMMUTER RAIL OFFERS ALTERNATIVE TO I-94, HIGHWAY 10 FOR MINNESOTA DRIVERS|url=http://nextstl.com/transportation/northstar-commuter-rail-offers-alternative-to-i-94-highway-10-for-minnesota-drivers|access-date=10 January 2013|newspaper=nextSTL|date=7 February 2010|archive-date=October 6, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006071539/http://nextstl.com/transportation/northstar-commuter-rail-offers-alternative-to-i-94-highway-10-for-minnesota-drivers|url-status=live}}</ref> with a significant portion of residents commuting into the Cities daily.

The lake for which the town is named was once an important part of the Twin Cities economy, as in the days before modern refrigerators, much of the ice for metropolitan iceboxes was harvested from Big Lake.

There is a connection to Mitchell Lake by a small channel on the north side of Big Lake.

[[Big Lake station]] is currently the northernmost terminus of the [[Northstar Commuter Rail]] line connecting the northwest suburbs and downtown [[Minneapolis, Minnesota|Minneapolis]]; the line will be extended to St. Cloud at some point in the future.

Currently, commuters can use the Northstar Link Commuter Bus to reach St. Cloud, Minnesota.