What is the cleanest lake in Michigan?

Windover Lake South Basin; Freeman Township in Clare County is the highest-rated lake in Michigan with an EPA water quality grade of A and 15 feet of water clarity.

How are these rankings calculated?

Lakes are graded A through F using the Metropolitan Council methodology, which combines Secchi depth (water clarity), total phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a (algae) into a single score. Source data comes from the EPA Water Quality Portal.

Cleanest Lakes in Michigan

Windover Lake South Basin; Freeman Township in Clare County leads the rankings with a water quality grade of A and 15 ft of clarity. Below are the top 50 cleanest monitored lakes in Michigan, ranked by EPA water quality score.

Ranked List

#	Lake	County	Grade	Clarity	Phosphorus	Algae
1	Windover Lake South Basin; Freeman Township	Clare	A	15 ft	-	2.5 µg/L
2	Moon Lake Central Basin; Watersmeet Township	Gogebic	A	18 ft	-	3.2 µg/L
3	Sunset Lake West Central Basin; Bates Township	Iron	A	15.5 ft	-	2.2 µg/L
4	Ellen Lake South Central Basin; Mansfield Township	Iron	A	17 ft	-	2.8 µg/L
5	Smoky Lake	Iron	A	24 ft	8.3 µg/L	-
6	Whitefish Bay Deep Lake	Chippewa	A	34.4 ft	16 µg/L	2.5 µg/L
7	Little Bass Lake	Lake	A	18.3 ft	-	3.1 µg/L
8	Whitefish Lake Southeast Basin; Pierson Township	Montcalm	A	16 ft	-	3.4 µg/L
9	Cobb Lake Central Basin	Barry	A	16 ft	-	1.8 µg/L
10	Big Twin Lake Southeast Basin; Blue Lake Township	Kalkaska	A	23 ft	-	2.3 µg/L
11	Bills Lake Central Basin	Newaygo	A	15.5 ft	-	1.7 µg/L
12	Arbutus Lake South Central Basin	Grand Traverse	A	19 ft	-	2.1 µg/L
13	Cub Lake Central Basin	Kalkaska	A	19 ft	-	1.7 µg/L
14	Lake Mary Northwest Basin; Mastodon Township	Iron	A	18 ft	-	3 µg/L
15	Round Lake	Benzie	A	15 ft	-	2.7 µg/L
16	Bear Lake Southeast Basin	Kalkaska	A	36.5 ft	-	2.4 µg/L
17	Higgins Lake East Basin	Roscommon	A	35 ft	-	1 µg/L
18	Long Lake North Central Basin; Long Lake Township	Grand Traverse	A	23.8 ft	-	1.4 µg/L
19	Eagle Lake Central Basin; Blue Lake Township	Kalkaska	A	17 ft	-	1.6 µg/L
20	Indian Lake Northeast Basin; Blue Lake Township	Kalkaska	A	15.5 ft	-	4.3 µg/L
21	Beaver Lake Central Basin; Ossineke Township	Alpena	A	16 ft	-	1.7 µg/L
22	Eagle Lake East Basin; Paw Paw Township	Van Buren	A	17 ft	-	3.8 µg/L
23	Lake View; Almira Twp	Benzie	A	18 ft	-	3 µg/L
24	Lower Herring Lake East Basin; Blaire Township	Benzie	A	16 ft	-	2.4 µg/L
25	Twin Lakes; Grayling Twp	Crawford	A	19 ft	-	4.5 µg/L
26	O'Rourke Lake; Bagley Twp	Otsego	A	15 ft	-	1.3 µg/L
27	Lime Lake	Benzie	A	17.5 ft	-	1.3 µg/L
28	Ransom Lake	Benzie	A	15 ft	-	2.5 µg/L
29	Island Lake Central Basin; Sherman Township	Gladwin	A	16.5 ft	-	3.2 µg/L
30	Saint Mary'S River Offshore Lake	Chippewa	A	-	17.5 µg/L	1.8 µg/L
31	Crooked Lake	Emmet	A	-	9 µg/L	2 µg/L
32	Spring Lake	Emmet	A	-	3.2 µg/L	3.9 µg/L
33	Chippewa Lake Northeast Basin; Chippewa Township	Mecosta	A	12.8 ft	-	3.3 µg/L
34	Loon Lake	Benzie	A	12.1 ft	15 µg/L	-
35	West Twin Lake East Basin; Albert Township	Montmorency	A	13 ft	-	1.8 µg/L
36	East Twin Lake South Central Basin; Albert Township	Montmorency	A	10 ft	-	4.1 µg/L
37	Silver Lake	Washtenaw	A	11.5 ft	-	2.5 µg/L
38	Bass Lake	Leelanau	A	11.2 ft	11.7 µg/L	-
39	Rennie Lake; Central Basin; East Bay Township	Grand Traverse	A	13 ft	-	3.7 µg/L
40	Ore Lake West Basin; Hamburg Township	Livingston	A	10 ft	-	3.3 µg/L
41	Squaw Lake Central Basin; Blue Lake Township	Kalkaska	A	16 ft	-	8.3 µg/L
42	Manitou Lake	Leelanau	A	13.3 ft	13.5 µg/L	-
43	Farewell Lake West Basin; Hanover Township	Jackson	A	11.8 ft	-	2.3 µg/L
44	Crystal Lake Central Basin; Crystal Township	Montcalm	A	10.5 ft	-	3.5 µg/L
45	Rose Lake East Basin; Rose Lake Township	Osceola	A	11.5 ft	-	4.8 µg/L
46	Beaver Lake	Alger	A	14.7 ft	7.8 µg/L	-
47	Lake Harvey	Keweenaw	A	10.5 ft	11.6 µg/L	-
48	Sargent Lake	Keweenaw	A	10.4 ft	17.3 µg/L	-
49	North Bar Lake	Leelanau	A	12.7 ft	14.7 µg/L	-
50	Siskiwit Lake	Keweenaw	A	19.3 ft	24.5 µg/L	-

Cleanest Lakes in Michigan

Ranked List

More Answers for Michigan