Is the clearest lake in a state the same as the cleanest?

No. Clearest is Secchi depth — how far down a disk remains visible. Cleanest is the nutrient-and-algae letter grade against EPA National Lakes Assessment ecoregion classes. A very clear lake can still fail a phosphorus class; a well-graded lake can be only moderately clear. This page is Secchi. The companion grade page is /blog/cleanest-lakes-by-state.

What is the clearest lake in Texas?

Brandy Branch Reservoir in Harrison County is the clearest measured lake in Texas in this refresh, at 12 feet of Secchi. The live top-25 table is /ranking/clearest/tx.

What is the clearest lake in Michigan?

Whitefish Bay Deep Lake in Chippewa County is the clearest measured lake in Michigan in this refresh, at 34.4 feet of Secchi. The live top-25 table is /ranking/clearest/mi.

Why is a state missing from this list?

A state appears only if we currently grade it and at least one lake there has a Secchi reading with a name clean enough for a ranking table. 36 U.S. states currently qualify. Thin coverage is called out as thin coverage, not filled with a guessed champion.

The Clearest Lake in Every State We Grade (2026)

Driving the news

Highest Secchi among state champions: Adams Lake (Wisconsin), 100 feet.
Michigan’s clearest measured lake in this refresh is Whitefish Bay Deep Lake at 34.4 feet — the live table is /ranking/clearest/mi.
Texas’s clearest measured lake is Brandy Branch Reservoir at 12 feet — the live table is /ranking/clearest/tx.

Clearest is not cleanest

Search demand for “clearest lake in Texas” and “clearest lake in Michigan” is a singular-answer question. The page that currently ranks for the national version of that question is often a WorldAtlas listicle. This report names one measured champion per U.S. state we grade, using the same Secchi ranking as /ranking/clearest, and it says the quiet part in the first section: clarity is not the letter grade.

Secchi depth is how far down a black-and-white disk remains visible. The letter grade is phosphorus and chlorophyll-a (and related nutrient evidence) against EPA National Lakes Assessment 2022 ecoregion classes. A tannin-stained lake can grade well and still look dark. A very clear lake can still carry a nutrient problem. For the grade-first state list, use The Cleanest Lakes in Every State We Track. For county Secchi winners, use The Clearest Lake in Every County We Track.

The national Secchi ranking is a different cut than “one per state.” Adams Lake can outrank every state champion that is not that lake, and a state can still be represented here by a lake that would not make a national top 20. Both lists are honest if you do not mix the questions.

State champions, clearest first

18 of 36 state winners currently read 20 feet of Secchi or more. Rank below is by clarity, not by state name; the A–F column is the nutrient grade on that same lake, shown so the two scales sit next to each other.

State	Clearest lake	Secchi (ft)	Grade
Wisconsin	Adams Lake (Vilas)	100	NR
Arkansas	Lake Maumelle (Pulaski)	99	NR
Kansas	Meade Lake (Meade)	53	NR
Oregon	Crescent Lake (Klamath)	51.7	A
Minnesota	St James Pit Lake (St. Louis)	47.6	NR
Wyoming	Fremont Lake (Sublette)	42.8	B
Montana	Little Bitterroot Lake (Flathead)	40.3	NR
Vermont	Sunset Lake (Rutland)	36.1	A
Michigan	Whitefish Bay Deep Lake (Chippewa)	34.4	NR
Utah	Flaming Gorge Reservoir (Daggett)	31.8	A
North Dakota	Spiritwood Lake (Stutsman)	31	C
Colorado	Rampart Reservoir (El Paso)	28.5	C
Washington	Fdr Lake (Grant)	28.2	NR
New York	Millsite Lake (Jefferson)	27.9	NR
Arizona	Lake Havasu (Mohave)	27.1	NR
Massachusetts	Wachusett Reservoir (Worcester)	25.8	NR
Florida	Jackson-Silver Lake (Jackson)	25	B
Idaho	Bear Lake Off North Beach (Bear Lake)	21.7	B
North Carolina	Wolf Creek Reservoir (Jackson)	19.7	C
Nebraska	Bridgeport Middle Lake (Morrill)	18.9	A
Iowa	Blue Pit Lake (Cerro Gordo)	17.1	A
Illinois	Loch Lomond Lake (Lake)	16.5	NR
Tennessee	Calderwood Lake (Blount)	16.4	C
Missouri	Lake Capri (St. Francois)	16.3	A
New Mexico	Navajo Reservoir (San Juan)	16	NR
Indiana	Lake George (Steuben)	14.5	NR
Alabama	Sinl Lake (Lawrence)	14.5	A
Virginia	Lake Robertson (Rockbridge)	13.9	A
Georgia	Lake Hartwell (Hart)	13.5	C
Texas	Brandy Branch Reservoir (Harrison)	12	A
Oklahoma	Broken Bow Lake (McCurtain)	8.5	NR
Kentucky	Rough River Lake (Breckinridge)	6.4	C
Nevada	Sheep Creek Lake (Elko)	6.2	D
Pennsylvania	Lake Carey (Wyoming)	5.9	NR
Ohio	Sites Lake (Richland)	5.2	NR
South Dakota	Traverse Lake (Roberts)	3.9	F

Alphabetical, for editors

Same champions, A–Z by state, so a desk can grab one row without scanning a clarity ranking.

Alabama: Sinl Lake (14.5 ft Secchi, Grade A)
Arizona: Lake Havasu (27.1 ft Secchi, Grade NR)
Arkansas: Lake Maumelle (99 ft Secchi, Grade NR)
Colorado: Rampart Reservoir (28.5 ft Secchi, Grade C)
Florida: Jackson-Silver Lake (25 ft Secchi, Grade B)
Georgia: Lake Hartwell (13.5 ft Secchi, Grade C)
Idaho: Bear Lake Off North Beach (21.7 ft Secchi, Grade B)
Illinois: Loch Lomond Lake (16.5 ft Secchi, Grade NR)
Indiana: Lake George (14.5 ft Secchi, Grade NR)
Iowa: Blue Pit Lake (17.1 ft Secchi, Grade A)
Kansas: Meade Lake (53 ft Secchi, Grade NR)
Kentucky: Rough River Lake (6.4 ft Secchi, Grade C)
Massachusetts: Wachusett Reservoir (25.8 ft Secchi, Grade NR)
Michigan: Whitefish Bay Deep Lake (34.4 ft Secchi, Grade NR)
Minnesota: St James Pit Lake (47.6 ft Secchi, Grade NR)
Missouri: Lake Capri (16.3 ft Secchi, Grade A)
Montana: Little Bitterroot Lake (40.3 ft Secchi, Grade NR)
Nebraska: Bridgeport Middle Lake (18.9 ft Secchi, Grade A)
Nevada: Sheep Creek Lake (6.2 ft Secchi, Grade D)
New Mexico: Navajo Reservoir (16 ft Secchi, Grade NR)
New York: Millsite Lake (27.9 ft Secchi, Grade NR)
North Carolina: Wolf Creek Reservoir (19.7 ft Secchi, Grade C)
North Dakota: Spiritwood Lake (31 ft Secchi, Grade C)
Ohio: Sites Lake (5.2 ft Secchi, Grade NR)
Oklahoma: Broken Bow Lake (8.5 ft Secchi, Grade NR)
Oregon: Crescent Lake (51.7 ft Secchi, Grade A)
Pennsylvania: Lake Carey (5.9 ft Secchi, Grade NR)
South Dakota: Traverse Lake (3.9 ft Secchi, Grade F)
Tennessee: Calderwood Lake (16.4 ft Secchi, Grade C)
Texas: Brandy Branch Reservoir (12 ft Secchi, Grade A)
Utah: Flaming Gorge Reservoir (31.8 ft Secchi, Grade A)
Vermont: Sunset Lake (36.1 ft Secchi, Grade A)
Virginia: Lake Robertson (13.9 ft Secchi, Grade A)
Washington: Fdr Lake (28.2 ft Secchi, Grade NR)
Wisconsin: Adams Lake (100 ft Secchi, Grade NR)
Wyoming: Fremont Lake (42.8 ft Secchi, Grade B)

How to read a state champion

A state with five measured lakes can still name a champion; the table does not pretend that champion is the clearest lake in a state we do not grade, or the clearest lake on Earth. Coverage is uneven. Pennsylvania currently has very few graded lakes; Minnesota and Wisconsin have thousands. Where a live top-25 ranking exists, it is the deeper page: national clearest and Texas, Michigan, and the other state tables linked from each hub.

None of these readings is a swim clearance. Pair Secchi with the letter grade, then with the day’s beach and algae advisory. Methodology: /methodology.