1
AAmes Lake
Itasca County, Minnesota · 8.5 mi from Bowstring Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (C → A)
- ++2 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (15 vs 32 µg/L)
Cleaner Lakes Than Bowstring Lake
5 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Bowstring Lake carries a Grade C (Fair) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Ames Lake (Itasca County, Grade A, 8.5 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
2
ASand Lake
Itasca County, Minnesota · 3.8 mi from Bowstring Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (C → A)
- ++5 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (18 vs 32 µg/L)
3
ARush Island Lake
Itasca County, Minnesota · 6.2 mi from Bowstring Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (C → A)
- ++2.8 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (15 vs 32 µg/L)
4
BSchoolhouse Lake
Itasca County, Minnesota · 8.4 mi from Bowstring Lake
- +Higher grade (C → B)
- +Lower phosphorus (18 vs 32 µg/L)
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.