Best Kayaking Lakes in Minnesota & Wisconsin

Top 50 lakes for kayaking and paddling. Filtered for A or B water quality grade, public access, and ideal paddling size (50-2,000 acres). Clear water makes kayaking more enjoyable — you can see the bottom, watch fish, and enjoy the scenery.

Rank	Lake	County	State	Grade	Clarity	Area	Depth
1	East Fox Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	16.1 ft	240.88 acres	65 ft
2	Lower Hay Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	19 ft	700.21 acres	100 ft
3	Latoka Lake	Douglas	MN	A	19 ft	766.63 acres	108 ft
4	Bad Medicine Lake	Becker	MN	A	25 ft	803.03 acres	84 ft
5	Big Sugar Bush Lake	Becker	MN	A	17 ft	521.51 acres	42 ft
6	Birch Lake	Wright	MN	A	15 ft	99.82 acres	52 ft
7	Birch Lake	Cook	MN	A	18 ft	236.31 acres	69 ft
8	Round Lake	Aitkin	MN	A	15.3 ft	634.03 acres	59 ft
9	Round Lake	Cook	MN	A	16.5 ft	154.48 acres	45 ft
10	Pike Lake	Cook	MN	A	17.8 ft	814.43 acres	45 ft
11	Pike Lake	St. Louis	MN	A	18 ft	488.26 acres	60 ft
12	Horseshoe Lake	Cass	MN	A	21 ft	260.32 acres	51 ft
13	Long Lake	Clearwater	MN	A	20 ft	158.86 acres	80 ft
14	Long Lake	Cass	MN	A	21.8 ft	1.0K acres	115 ft
15	Long Lake	Becker	MN	A	20 ft	414.51 acres	61 ft
16	Long Lake	Cass	MN	A	16.8 ft	246.3 acres	37 ft
17	Long Lake	Itasca	MN	A	16.7 ft	155.28 acres	72 ft
18	Long Lake	Itasca	MN	A	16.9 ft	134.49 acres	85 ft
19	Unnamed Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	15.1 ft	1.4K acres	95 ft
20	Maple Lake	Itasca	MN	A	15.3 ft	254.55 acres	39 ft
21	Shallow Lake	Itasca	MN	A	16.4 ft	538.95 acres	85 ft
22	Trout Lake	Itasca	MN	A	15.5 ft	1.9K acres	135 ft
23	Trout Lake	Cook	MN	A	19 ft	258.91 acres	77 ft
24	Chippewa Lake	Douglas	MN	A	15.1 ft	1.2K acres	95 ft
25	Cowdry Lake	Douglas	MN	A	17 ft	242.54 acres	52 ft
26	Ossawinnamakee Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	20 ft	711.33 acres	63 ft
27	Clear Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	18 ft	225.91 acres	63 ft
28	Clear Lake	Aitkin	MN	A	16 ft	573.5 acres	24 ft
29	Clear Lake	Itasca	MN	A	14.9 ft	140.4 acres	30 ft
30	Blue Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	17.4 ft	336.35 acres	84 ft
31	Eagle Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	22.6 ft	907.4 acres	46 ft
32	Upper Maple Lake	Wright	MN	A	18 ft	632.6 acres	76 ft
33	Partridge Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	16.2 ft	187.56 acres	42 ft
34	Roger Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	16 ft	239.99 acres	64 ft
35	Square Lake	Washington	MN	A	17 ft	203.05 acres	68 ft
36	Tofte Lake	Lake	MN	A	18.5 ft	133.78 acres	73 ft
37	Andrusia Lake	Beltrami	MN	A	15.5 ft	1.6K acres	60 ft
38	Girl Lake	Cass	MN	A	17 ft	428.18 acres	81 ft
39	Little Toad Lake	Becker	MN	A	15 ft	406.32 acres	65 ft
40	Charlotte Lake	Wright	MN	A	17.1 ft	252.52 acres	46 ft
41	Big Mcdonald Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	16.4 ft	991.7 acres	46 ft
42	Bass Lake	Itasca	MN	A	18.2 ft	121.69 acres	65 ft
43	Bass Lake	Cass	MN	A	—	194.75 acres	55 ft
44	Island Lake	Cass	MN	A	15 ft	358.3 acres	45 ft
45	Island Lake	Cass	MN	A	17.5 ft	184.26 acres	40 ft
46	Island Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	16.4 ft	225.21 acres	32 ft
47	Crooked Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	15 ft	905.49 acres	54 ft
48	Cedar Lake	Morrison	MN	A	16.4 ft	235.64 acres	88 ft
49	Big Pine Lake	Aitkin	MN	A	16.5 ft	638.02 acres	78 ft
50	Lizzie Lake	Otter Tail	MN	A	16.4 ft	1.9K acres	66 ft