Home inspection in Tonka Bay.

What we see in Tonka Bay homes.

Tonka Bay was incorporated in 1901 and covers 2.11 square miles, of which 1.17 are water. It sits on Lake Minnetonka between the upper and lower lakes, and Manitou Road is its main route. The area drew attention as a summer retreat in the 1880s and 1890s, when the lake's resort boom brought hotels and steamboats, and Peter Gideon planted orchards here in 1864 where he developed the Wealthy apple. The 2020 population was 1,442. The housing is a mix of small converted cottages and rebuilt lakeshore homes on the narrow peninsula streets, most of them close to the water.

Lake Minnetonka is 14,528 acres, and houses that close to it face water from every direction. Grading and drainage, sump pits and pumps, basement or crawl space moisture, and shoreline retaining walls, stairs and docks matter most. Converted cottages often have mixed foundations, added rooms and heating and wiring that grew over time, so the point where the original structure ends is worth finding. On rebuilt homes, flashing, decks and the mechanical systems serving a larger house on a small lot matter, plus roof and exterior details that take weather off the lake.

Local facts checked September 2026 against: Wikipedia, Wikipedia, Minnesota Department of Health.