Best Kayaking Lakes in Minnesota & Wisconsin

Top 50 lakes for kayaking and paddling — 25 from each state, ranked by Secchi clarity within grade. Filtered for A or B water quality, public access, and ideal paddling size (50-2,000 acres).

State-specific lists: Minnesota → Wisconsin →

Rank	Lake	County	State	Grade	Clarity	Area	Depth
1	Sturgeon Lake	Pine	MN	A	55 ft	1.7K acres	-
2	St James Pit Lake	St. Louis	MN	A	47.6 ft	124.18 acres	381 ft
3	Big Carnelian Lake	Washington	MN	A	46.8 ft	457.03 acres	66 ft
4	Long Lake	Cass	MN	A	46.6 ft	1.0K acres	115 ft
5	Chester Lake	Cook	MN	A	39 ft	51.97 acres	-
6	Sabin Lake	St. Louis	MN	A	35 ft	278.87 acres	52 ft
7	Dunnigan Lake	Lake	MN	A	33.2 ft	81.13 acres	-
8	Divide Lake	Lake	MN	A	33.2 ft	61.11 acres	-
9	Caribou Lake	Itasca	MN	A	31 ft	246.5 acres	152 ft
10	Meander Lake	St. Louis	MN	A	27.9 ft	98.71 acres	-
11	Little Mcdonald Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	26.9 ft	1.3K acres	109 ft
12	Serpent Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	25 ft	1.1K acres	65 ft
13	Bad Medicine Lake	Becker	MN	A	25 ft	803.03 acres	84 ft
14	Stony Lake	Cass	MN	A	23.3 ft	563.21 acres	50 ft
15	Potato Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	23 ft	1.6K acres	76 ft
16	Big Sand Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	23 ft	1.6K acres	135 ft
17	Long Lost Lake	Clearwater	MN	A	23 ft	539.04 acres	63 ft
18	Turtle Lake	Becker	MN	A	23 ft	196.39 acres	73 ft
19	Lost Lake	St. Louis	MN	A	23 ft	124.07 acres	44 ft
20	Belle Taine Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	22.8 ft	1.5K acres	56 ft
21	Lone Lake	Aitkin	MN	A	22.7 ft	433.49 acres	60 ft
22	Eagle Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	22.6 ft	907.4 acres	46 ft
23	West Sylvia Lake	Wright	MN	A	22 ft	904.39 acres	97 ft
24	Long Lake	Cass	MN	A	21.8 ft	1.0K acres	115 ft
25	Big Ole Lake	Itasca	MN	A	21.8 ft	216.95 acres	65 ft
26	Wazee Lake	Jackson	WI	A	105.8 ft	146 acres	350 ft
27	Bardon Lake	Douglas	WI	A	88.6 ft	848 acres	102 ft
28	Black Oak Lake	Vilas	WI	A	88.6 ft	564 acres	85 ft
29	Whitefish Lake	Douglas	WI	A	86.9 ft	848 acres	102 ft
30	Whitefish Lake	Douglas	WI	A	82 ft	848 acres	102 ft
31	Pine Lake	Waukesha	WI	A	82 ft	711 acres	85 ft
32	Maiden Lake	Oconto	WI	A	80.4 ft	269 acres	52 ft
33	Lake Owen	Bayfield	WI	A	78.7 ft	1.3K acres	95 ft
34	Stone Lake	Washburn	WI	A	75.5 ft	490 acres	49 ft
35	Forest Lake	Vilas	WI	A	72.2 ft	468 acres	60 ft
36	Wheeler Lake	Oconto	WI	A	72.2 ft	281 acres	-
37	Buskey Bay Lake	Bayfield	WI	A	70.9 ft	88 acres	51 ft
38	Hasbrook Lake	Oneida	WI	A	68.9 ft	307 acres	50 ft
39	Long Lake	Burnett	WI	A	68.9 ft	222 acres	41 ft
40	Sea Lion Lake	Florence	WI	A	68.9 ft	114 acres	82 ft
41	Lower Pine Lake	Polk	WI	A	68.9 ft	96 acres	102 ft
42	Boot Lake	Oconto	WI	A	67.3 ft	230 acres	38 ft
43	White Sand Lake	Vilas	WI	A	65.6 ft	746 acres	71 ft
44	Paya Lake	Oconto	WI	A	65.6 ft	105 acres	40 ft
45	Pearl Lake	Waushara	WI	A	65.6 ft	101 acres	45 ft
46	Twin Bear Lake	Bayfield	WI	A	64 ft	157 acres	59 ft
47	Big Twin Lake	Langlade	WI	A	64 ft	66 acres	-
48	Rose Lake	Langlade	WI	A	63.2 ft	115 acres	-
49	Alva Lake	Oneida	WI	A	62.8 ft	199 acres	43 ft
50	Flambeau Lake	Vilas	WI	A	62.3 ft	1.2K acres	78 ft