1
BPine Lake
Clearwater County, Minnesota · 7.2 mi from Cross Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (D → B)
- ++7.2 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (20 vs 57 µg/L)
Cleaner Lakes Than Cross Lake
5 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Cross Lake carries a Grade D (Poor) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Pine Lake (Clearwater County, Grade B, 7.2 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
2
BPoplar Lake
Polk County, Minnesota · 5.9 mi from Cross Lake
- +Two grade letters higher (D → B)
- ++5.9 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (23 vs 57 µg/L)
3
CSpring Lake
Polk County, Minnesota · 8.1 mi from Cross Lake
- +Higher grade (D → C)
- ++1.9 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (27.5 vs 57 µg/L)
5
CWhitefish Lake
Polk County, Minnesota · 3 mi from Cross Lake
- +Higher grade (D → C)
- ++1.1 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (42.5 vs 57 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.