Editing Prior Lake, Minnesota (section)

===Lakes===
The nearby [[Dakota people]] called Prior Lake ''Bdé Mayá Thó'' ("Lake of the Blue Banks").<ref name="dakota name">{{cite book |last=Durand |first=Paul |date=1994 |title=Okizu Wakpa: Where the Waters Gather and the Rivers Meet: An Atlas of the Eastern Sioux |url= |location=Prior Lake, Minnesota |publisher=Durand |page=51 |isbn=9780964146907}}</ref>

Prior Lake (renamed after Charles Prior, of the [[Milwaukee Road|Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad]]) is made up of two sections, Upper Prior Lake and Lower Prior Lake. The area of each is 354 and {{convert|810|acre|km2}}, respectively. Upper Prior Lake flows northerly, draining into the larger Lower Prior Lake via a navigable channel that runs under Eagle Creek Avenue (Scott County Highway 21). The lake is popular for fishing, water sports, and snowmobiling, and is accessible by the Scott County Snowmobile Trail and other designated trails. In 2009, [[zebra mussel]] shells were discovered on the shore of Lower Prior Lake and the [[Minnesota Department of Natural Resources|DNR]] confirmed that they were also in Upper Prior Lake.

The eastern part of Spring Lake along Scott County Road 12 is also within the city of Prior Lake.  Spring Lake, with 290 acres, offers similar recreational opportunities as Upper Prior Lake with a more rural character and less traffic. Several feet higher in elevation, Spring Lake flows north into Upper Prior Lake via a non-navigable spillway and culvert under County Road 12.