1
ALake Capri
St. Francois County, Wisconsin · 9 mi from Cole Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- +Lower phosphorus (5.7 vs 17 µg/L)
Cleaner Lakes Than Cole Lake
5 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Cole Lake carries a Grade B (Good) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Lake Capri (St. Francois County, Grade A, 9 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
2
ATimberline Lakes
St. Francois County, Wisconsin · 2.3 mi from Cole Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- +Lower phosphorus (5.5 vs 17 µg/L)
3
ALake Marseilles-Terre du Lac Lakes
St. Francois County, Wisconsin · 9 mi from Cole Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- +Lower phosphorus (7.4 vs 17 µg/L)
4
ALake Shayne-Terre du Lac Lakes
Washington County, Wisconsin · 9.4 mi from Cole Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- +Lower phosphorus (5 vs 17 µg/L)
5
AGoose Creek Lake
Ste. Genevieve County, Wisconsin · 13.5 mi from Cole Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- +Lower phosphorus (9.5 vs 17 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.