Best Kayaking Lakes in Florida, Clean Water + Public Access

Kayaking-friendly rankings prefer lakes with low motor-boat congestion, interesting shoreline, decent water clarity, and public access. Jacc Lake (A) tops the Florida list.

Kayaking favors lakes with shoreline interest — bays, islands, undeveloped stretches — which tends to correlate with the larger, more remote Florida lakes rather than the small, residential ones.

Rank	Lake	County	State	Grade	Clarity	Area	Depth
1	Jacc Lake	Walton	FL	A	9.3 ft	-	-
2	Jackson-Silver Lake	Jackson	FL	B	25 ft	-	~40 ft est.
3	Highlands-Tulane Lake	Highlands	FL	B	17 ft	-	-
4	Clc Lake	Washington	FL	B	16.4 ft	-	-
5	Down Lake	Orange	FL	B	16.1 ft	-	-
6	Highlands-Sirena Lake	Highlands	FL	B	16 ft	-	-
7	Lake-Saunders	Lake	FL	B	16 ft	-	-
8	Highlands-Pearl Lake	Highlands	FL	B	15.7 ft	-	-
9	Orange-Little Conway Lake	Orange	FL	B	15 ft	-	-
10	Miami-Dade-E Lake	Miami-Dade	FL	B	15 ft	-	~36 ft est.
11	Wauseon Bay Lake	Orange	FL	B	14.8 ft	-	~39 ft est.
12	Dunl Lake	Washington	FL	B	14.8 ft	-	-
13	Lake Tulane	Highlands	FL	B	14.8 ft	-	-
14	Orange-Down Lake	Orange	FL	B	14.5 ft	-	-
15	Orange-Conway South Lake	Orange	FL	B	14.5 ft	-	-
16	Mlc Lake	Washington	FL	B	14.1 ft	-	~47 ft est.
17	Volusia-Winnemissett Lake	Volusia	FL	B	14 ft	-	-
18	Lake-Sellers	Lake	FL	B	13.3 ft	-	~43 ft est.
19	Orange-Conway North Lake	Orange	FL	B	13.2 ft	-	-
20	Orange-Baldwin Lake	Orange	FL	B	13 ft	-	-
21	Liberty-Mystic Lake	Liberty	FL	B	13 ft	-	~50 ft est.
22	Orange-Butler Lake	Orange	FL	B	13 ft	-	-
23	Butler Lake	Orange	FL	B	12.8 ft	-	-
24	Chase Lake	Orange	FL	B	12.5 ft	-	-
25	Bessie Lake	Orange	FL	B	12.5 ft	-	-
26	Orange-Bessie Lake	Orange	FL	B	12.3 ft	-	-
27	Conway Nw Lake	Orange	FL	B	12.1 ft	-	-
28	Lake-Woodward	Lake	FL	B	12 ft	-	-
29	Orange-Ola Lake	Orange	FL	B	12 ft	-	-
30	Lake Nona South	Orange	FL	B	11.7 ft	-	-
31	Orange-Olivia Lake	Orange	FL	B	11.5 ft	-	-
32	Putnam-Fanny Lake	Putnam	FL	B	11.5 ft	-	~51 ft est.
33	Blanche Lake	Orange	FL	B	11.5 ft	-	~38 ft est.
34	Little Sand Lake	Orange	FL	B	11.5 ft	-	-
35	Tibet Lake	Orange	FL	B	11.5 ft	-	-
36	Lake Burden	Orange	FL	B	11.5 ft	-	~33 ft est.
37	Orange-Underhill Lake	Orange	FL	B	11.3 ft	-	-
38	Conway M Lake	Orange	FL	B	11.2 ft	-	-
39	Huckleberry Lake	Orange	FL	B	11.2 ft	-	~53 ft est.
40	Big Sand S Lake	Orange	FL	B	11.2 ft	-	~42 ft est.
41	Collier-Quarry Lake	Collier	FL	B	11 ft	-	~23 ft est.
42	Lake-Beakman	Lake	FL	B	11 ft	-	-
43	Putnam-Broward Lake	Putnam	FL	B	11 ft	-	-
44	Clay-Lily Lake	Clay	FL	B	11 ft	-	-
45	Hillsborough-Carroll Lake	Hillsborough	FL	B	11 ft	-	-
46	Marion-Mill Dam Lake	Marion	FL	B	11 ft	-	~31 ft est.
47	Lake-East Crooked	Lake	FL	B	10.8 ft	-	-
48	Conway S Lake	Orange	FL	B	10.8 ft	-	-
49	Lake Mizell	Orange	FL	B	10.8 ft	-	~45 ft est.
50	Lake Nona North	Orange	FL	B	10.8 ft	-	-

All-states list →Minnesota version →Wisconsin version →Illinois version →All Florida lakes →

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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.