Largest Lakes in Minnesota: Top 25 Ranked by Surface Area (2026)
Rainy Lake in Koochiching County is the largest fully-monitored lake in our Minnesota dataset at 210,200 acres. Lake of the Woods is technically larger but spans the U.S.–Canada border. Below: the 25 largest monitored Minnesota lakes by surface area.
Top 25 Largest Minnesota Lakes
Ranked by surface area (acres).
- 1. Rainy Lake — 210,200 acres (Koochiching County, Grade D)
- 2. Rainy Lake — 210,200 acres (St. Louis County, Grade D)
- 3. Mille Lacs Lake — 128,250 acres (Aitkin County, Grade B)
- 4. Mille Lacs Lake — 128,250 acres (Mille Lacs County, Grade C)
- 5. Upper Red Lake: West-Central — 119,294 acres (Beltrami County, Grade D)
- 6. Steamboat Bay Lake — 103,444 acres (Cass County, Grade B)
- 7. Lake Winnibigoshish — 56,471 acres (Cass County, Grade B)
- 8. Third River Flowage Lake — 56,471 acres (Itasca County, Grade B)
- 9. East Vermilion Lake — 39,272 acres (St. Louis County, Grade D)
- 10. Lac la Croix Lake — 29,597 acres (St. Louis County, Grade C)
- 11. Basswood Lake — 25,953 acres (Lake County, Grade C)
- 12. Namakan Lake — 24,066 acres (St. Louis County, Grade C)
- 13. Kabetogama Lake — 24,034 acres (St. Louis County, Grade D)
The Big Three: Red Lake, Mille Lacs, Leech Lake
Three Minnesota lakes consistently rank near the top of any size list: Red Lake (split into Upper and Lower), Mille Lacs Lake, and Leech Lake. Each supports a distinct walleye fishery and economy. Mille Lacs has been the subject of decades of fishery management debate around tribal treaty rights and population recovery.