1
ABass Lake
Itasca County, Minnesota · 3.9 mi from Deer Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++9.7 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (8 vs 16 µg/L)
Cleaner Lakes Than Deer Lake
5 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Deer Lake carries a Grade B (Good) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Bass Lake (Itasca County, Grade A, 3.9 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
2
AMirror Lake
Itasca County, Minnesota · 4.9 mi from Deer Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++9.5 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (10 vs 16 µg/L)
3
ALarson Lake
Itasca County, Minnesota · 5.6 mi from Deer Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++12.5 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (4 vs 16 µg/L)
4
APickerel Lake
Itasca County, Minnesota · 1 mi from Deer Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++1.7 ft water clarity
5
AMead Lake
Itasca County, Minnesota · 2.4 mi from Deer Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++2.2 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.