1
ABoot Lake
Becker County, Minnesota · 3.1 mi from Big Basswood Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (C → A)
- ++16.4 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (8 vs 14 µg/L)
Cleaner Lakes Than Big Basswood Lake
5 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Big Basswood Lake carries a Grade C (Fair) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Boot Lake (Becker County, Grade A, 3.1 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
2
ABad Medicine Lake
Becker County, Minnesota · 4.8 mi from Big Basswood Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (C → A)
- ++21.9 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (6 vs 14 µg/L)
3
AJuggler Lake
Becker County, Minnesota · 7.1 mi from Big Basswood Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (C → A)
- ++14.9 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (7 vs 14 µg/L)
4
APickerel Lake
Clearwater County, Minnesota · 7.9 mi from Big Basswood Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (C → A)
- ++13 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (8 vs 14 µg/L)
5
AHungry Man Lake
Becker County, Minnesota · 7.3 mi from Big Basswood Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (C → A)
- ++11.3 ft water clarity
How this list is built
Every lake on LakeQuality has a calculated grade from EPA Water Quality Portal samples — secchi depth, total phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a measured against Metropolitan Council thresholds. To suggest cleaner alternatives, we filter lakes within 30 miles to those with a strictly higher numeric score, then rank by grade improvement with a small proximity tiebreak. Cross-state and limited-data lakes are excluded so the list stays locally relevant.