Best Cabin Lakes in Minnesota, Clean + Deep + Great Fishing, LakeQuality

Best-for-cabin rankings weight a different bundle: clarity matters, but so does the lake's likelihood to support a good fishery, public access, and the kind of all-season water-quality stability that makes a cabin a meaningful investment. St James Pit Lake (A) leads the Minnesota list.

Cabin rankings also factor in the practical reality of cabin ownership: distance to a population center, shoreline development pressure, and the trajectory of the lake's grade over multiple sample years. A stable B is often a better cabin investment than a volatile A.

Rank	Lake	County	State	Grade	Clarity	Area	Depth
1	St James Pit Lake	St. Louis	MN	A	47.6 ft	124 acres	381 ft
2	Caribou Lake	Itasca	MN	A	31 ft	247 acres	152 ft
3	Three Island Lake	Itasca	MN	A	29 ft	250 acres	66 ft
4	Little Mcdonald Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	26.5 ft	1,316 acres	109 ft
5	South Lake	Cook	MN	A	26 ft	1,145 acres	140 ft
6	Bad Medicine Lake	Becker	MN	A	25 ft	803 acres	84 ft
7	Serpent Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	25 ft	1,116 acres	65 ft
8	Big Cormorant Lake	Becker	MN	A	24.8 ft	3,657 acres	75 ft
9	Iron Chief Complex Lake	St. Louis	MN	A	24.5 ft	207 acres	262.1 ft
10	Little Wabana Lake	Itasca	MN	A	24 ft	116 acres	57 ft
11	Sagamore Mine Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	23.8 ft	119 acres	210 ft
12	Miner'S Pit West Lake	St. Louis	MN	A	23.1 ft	141 acres	140 ft
13	Big Sand Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	23 ft	1,639 acres	135 ft
14	Stony Lake	Cass	MN	A	23 ft	563 acres	50 ft
15	Turtle Lake	Becker	MN	A	23 ft	196 acres	73 ft
16	Lost Lake	St. Louis	MN	A	23 ft	124 acres	44 ft
17	Belle Taine Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	22.8 ft	1,497 acres	56 ft
18	Eagle Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	22.6 ft	907 acres	46 ft
19	Lone Lake	Aitkin	MN	A	22.5 ft	433 acres	60 ft
20	Peter Lake	Cook	MN	A	22.5 ft	282 acres	120 ft
21	West Sylvia Lake	Wright	MN	A	22 ft	904 acres	97 ft
22	Long Lost Lake	Clearwater	MN	A	22 ft	539 acres	63 ft
23	Big Ole Lake	Itasca	MN	A	21.8 ft	217 acres	65 ft
24	Leighton Lake	Itasca	MN	A	21.7 ft	245 acres	63 ft
25	Chase Lake	Itasca	MN	A	21.7 ft	211 acres	95 ft
26	Little Jay Gould Lake	Itasca	MN	A	21.5 ft	150 acres	56 ft
27	Long Lake	Cass	MN	A	21.5 ft	1,007 acres	115 ft
28	Long Lake	Cass	MN	A	21.5 ft	1,007 acres	115 ft
29	Duncan Lake	Cook	MN	A	21.5 ft	477 acres	130 ft
30	Little Long Lake	St. Louis	MN	A	21 ft	322 acres	45 ft
31	Six Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	21 ft	197 acres	140 ft
32	Portage Lake	Cass	MN	A	21 ft	277 acres	84 ft
33	East Sylvia Lake	Wright	MN	A	21 ft	669 acres	78 ft
34	Horseshoe Lake	Cass	MN	A	21 ft	260 acres	51 ft
35	Moon Lake	Douglas	MN	A	21 ft	139 acres	38 ft
36	Bearskin Lake	Cook	MN	A	21 ft	509 acres	78 ft
37	Larson Lake	Itasca	MN	A	21 ft	208 acres	177 ft
38	Swenson Lake	Beltrami	MN	A	20.7 ft	412 acres	76 ft
39	Mayhew Lake	Cook	MN	A	20.6 ft	221 acres	84 ft
40	Big Watab Lake	Stearns	MN	A	20.5 ft	246 acres	123 ft
41	Long Lake	Clearwater	MN	A	20.5 ft	159 acres	80 ft
42	North Union Lake	Douglas	MN	A	20.3 ft	118 acres	42 ft
43	Little Sand Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	20 ft	410 acres	80 ft
44	Thunder Lake	Cass	MN	A	20 ft	1,347 acres	95 ft
45	Ossawinnamakee Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	20 ft	711 acres	63 ft
46	Sand Lake	Cass	MN	A	20 ft	149 acres	54 ft
47	Scalp Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	20 ft	254 acres	90 ft
48	Long Lake	Beltrami	MN	A	20 ft	412 acres	87 ft
49	Sybil Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	20 ft	683 acres	74 ft
50	Big Fish Lake	Stearns	MN	A	20 ft	557 acres	70 ft

Combined list →Wisconsin version →All Minnesota lakes →

Cabins & lakeside stays in Minnesota

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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.