1
ATrout Lake
Cook County, Minnesota · 5.9 mi from Elbow Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++15.3 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (9 vs 19 µg/L)
Cleaner Lakes Than Elbow Lake
5 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Elbow Lake carries a Grade B (Good) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Trout Lake (Cook County, Grade A, 5.9 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
2
ASuperior Lake
Cook County, Minnesota · 8.3 mi from Elbow Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++11.4 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (4 vs 19 µg/L)
3
ATwo Island Lake
Cook County, Minnesota · 7.8 mi from Elbow Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++6.8 ft water clarity
4
BWest Twin Lake
Cook County, Minnesota · 5.9 mi from Elbow Lake
- +Higher overall water quality score
- ++6.1 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (9 vs 19 µg/L)
5
BDevil Track Lake
Cook County, Minnesota · 6.5 mi from Elbow Lake
- +Higher overall water quality score
- ++3.3 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (12.5 vs 19 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.