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Late afternoon sun over Slim Lake, scattering a bright path across wind-textured water

Cleaner Lakes Than Crawford Creek Lake

5 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.

Crawford Creek Lake carries a Grade F (Algae-prone) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Little Sioux Park Lake (Woodbury County, Grade A, 15.5 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.

Reviewed by LakeQuality Editorial Team · Updated
1
A

Little Sioux Park Lake

Woodbury County, Iowa · 15.5 mi from Crawford Creek Lake
  • +Two grade letters higher (F → A)
  • ++4.1 ft water clarity
  • +Lower phosphorus (19 vs 97 µg/L)
2
B

Arrowhead Lake

Sac County, Iowa · 28.4 mi from Crawford Creek Lake
  • +Two grade letters higher (F → B)
  • ++4 ft water clarity
  • +Lower phosphorus (26 vs 97 µg/L)
3
C

Oldham Lake

Monona County, Iowa · 20.7 mi from Crawford Creek Lake
  • +Two grade letters higher (F → C)
  • ++3.5 ft water clarity
  • +Lower phosphorus (46 vs 97 µg/L)
4
D

Moorehead Lake

Ida County, Iowa · 8.6 mi from Crawford Creek Lake
  • +Higher grade (F → D)
  • ++2.1 ft water clarity
  • +Lower phosphorus (73.5 vs 97 µg/L)
5
D

Yellow Smoke Lake

Crawford County, Iowa · 22.7 mi from Crawford Creek Lake
  • +Higher grade (F → D)
  • ++1.4 ft water clarity
  • +Lower phosphorus (56.5 vs 97 µg/L)

Reading the cohort

Within 30 miles of Crawford Creek Lake, 5 water bodies score higher than its Grade F on the same EPA water-quality metrics. That density of cleaner options is itself a signal — when several nearby lakes score better on the same indicators, the issues at Crawford Creek Lake are typically lake-specific (depth, watershed inflow, stratification pattern) rather than regional. The choice for a swim, paddle, or fishing trip is genuinely between meaningfully different water bodies, not between marginal differences in the same dataset.

The nearest cleaner alternative — Little Sioux Park Lake in Woodbury County — sits 15.5 miles from Crawford Creek Lake, putting it firmly in "destination trip" rather than "neighborhood swap" range. The water-quality gap has to be the deciding factor; for a casual outing, Crawford Creek Lake is the practical choice and the cleaner options are reserved for purpose-specific visits.

Lakes are graded A to F on nutrients and algae — total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity — measured against the EPA National Lakes Assessment 2022 condition classes for that lake's own ecoregion, so a lake is judged against the lakes it would naturally resemble. A higher letter reflects measurably lower nutrient and algae levels, not subjective beauty or access quality — a Grade A lake might have worse boat-launch facilities or shoreline access than a Grade C neighbor, so the ranking is one input alongside the rest of trip planning. The full grading formula is on our methodology page.

How this list is built

Rated lakes on LakeQuality have a letter from EPA Water Quality Portal samples — nutrients and algae measured against EPA National Lakes Assessment ecoregion classes. Secchi is shown, not scored. 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.

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