Best Kayaking Lakes Across 12 States

Top 50 kayaking lakes across our dataset (states without surface-area data contribute fewer entries). Filtered for A or B water quality, no known access restrictions (verified boat-ramp data available for Minnesota), and ideal paddling size (50-2,000 acres).

State-specific lists: Minnesota →Wisconsin →Illinois →Michigan →Iowa →Ohio →Pennsylvania →New York →Missouri →Indiana →North Dakota →South Dakota →

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	Clearwater Lake	Cook	MN	A	29 ft	462 acres	65 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	Serpent Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	25 ft	1,116 acres	65 ft
7	Bad Medicine Lake	Becker	MN	A	25 ft	803 acres	84 ft
8	Wazee Lake	Jackson	WI	A	30 ft	146 acres	350 ft
9	Black Oak Lake	Vilas	WI	A	28.5 ft	564 acres	85 ft
10	Bardon Lake	Douglas	WI	A	27 ft	848 acres	102 ft
11	Wheeler Lake	Oconto	WI	A	27 ft	281 acres	35 ft
12	Whitefish Lake	Douglas	WI	A	25.3 ft	848 acres	102 ft
13	Pine Lake	Waukesha	WI	A	25 ft	711 acres	85 ft
14	Lake Owen	Bayfield	WI	A	24.6 ft	1,250 acres	95 ft
15	Loch Lomond Lake	Lake	IL	A	16.5 ft	72 acres	-
16	Avery Lake	Montmorency	MI	A	27 ft	322 acres	-
17	Corey Lake Southeastern Basin; Fabius Township	St. Joseph	MI	A	16 ft	567 acres	-
18	Lake Lancer	Gladwin	MI	A	15.5 ft	977 acres	-
19	Oxbow Lake	Oakland	MI	A	15 ft	290 acres	-
20	Tippy Pond by Dam	Manistee	MI	A	-	1,330 acres	-
21	Oquaga Lake	Broome	NY	A	26.2 ft	134 acres	-
22	Bradley Brook Reservoir	Madison	NY	A	20.7 ft	141 acres	-
23	Tuscarora Lake	Madison	NY	A	20.5 ft	362 acres	-
24	Lake Moraine	Madison	NY	A	20.3 ft	260 acres	-
25	Canadice Lake	Ontario	NY	A	18.8 ft	657 acres	-
26	Deruyter Reservoir	Madison	NY	A	17.6 ft	560 acres	-
27	Lake Luzerne	Warren	NY	A	17.1 ft	111 acres	-
28	Lake Capri	St. Francois	MO	A	16.3 ft	112 acres	-
29	Free Peoples Lake	Benson	ND	A	-	544 acres	54 ft
30	Jarvis Beach Lake	Rolette	ND	A	-	304 acres	26.3 ft
31	Epping-Springbrook Dam-Littoral Lake	Williams	ND	A	-	139 acres	25.4 ft
32	Wood Lake	Benson	ND	A	-	104 acres	26.2 ft
33	Lake Marseilles-Terre du Lac Lakes	St. Francois	MO	A	14.1 ft	56 acres	-
34	Lake Wauwanoka Nr. Dam	Jefferson	MO	A	12.9 ft	86 acres	-
35	Alpine Lake	Warren	MO	A	12.6 ft	325 acres	-
36	Port Perry Lake	Perry	MO	A	12 ft	187 acres	-
37	Lake Shayne-Terre du Lac Lakes	Washington	MO	A	11.1 ft	51 acres	-
38	Goose Creek Lake	Ste. Genevieve	MO	A	9.9 ft	379 acres	-
39	Barnes Lake	Lapeer	MI	A	14.5 ft	110 acres	-
40	Lake Lansing Northwest Basin; Meridian Township	Ingham	MI	A	10.3 ft	453 acres	-
41	Nine Eagles Lake	Decatur	IA	A	11 ft	59 acres	-
42	Spiritwood Lake	Stutsman	ND	A	31 ft	493 acres	54.7 ft
43	Twin Lakes	LaMoure	ND	A	14.1 ft	1,736 acres	40.3 ft
44	Round Lake	McHenry	ND	A	12.1 ft	308 acres	16.7 ft
45	Round Lake	Lake	IL	B	7.4 ft	242 acres	-
46	Dale Maffitt Reservoir	Dallas	IA	B	9.8 ft	230 acres	-
47	Lake George	Steuben	IN	B	14.5 ft	538 acres	-
48	Glendale Lake	Pope	IL	B	4.8 ft	84 acres	-