Gem Lake, MN

Gem Lake is a tiny Ramsey County community of under 500 people, sitting between White Bear Lake and Little Canada about 15 minutes northeast of Saint Paul via I-35E. Take Exit 111 for County Road E or Exit 113 for Larpenteur Avenue. The city operates one of Minnesota's smallest municipal governments, with a volunteer fire department that's used the same small station on Gem Lake Road since the 1960s.