What is the cleanest lake near Head Lake?

Kinney Lake in Beltrami County holds a Grade A water quality score and is 3.1 miles from Head Lake.

Why is Head Lake not Grade A?

Head Lake holds Grade B, with about 5.1 ft of water clarity and 5 µg/L of phosphorus. The grade reflects measured water quality against Metropolitan Council thresholds. Cleaner alternatives nearby score higher on clarity, phosphorus, or chlorophyll-a.

Are these recommendations based on real data?

Yes. Every grade is calculated from EPA Water Quality Portal samples for the lake. Recommendations are limited to lakes within 30 miles of Head Lake in Minnesota, with strictly higher numeric grade scores and sufficient monitoring data.

Cleaner Lakes Than Head Lake, Top 5 Within 30 Miles, LakeQuality

Cleaner Lakes Than Head Lake

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

Head Lake carries a Grade B (Good) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Kinney Lake (Beltrami County, Grade A, 3.1 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.

Kinney Lake

Beltrami County, Minnesota · 3.1 mi from Head Lake

+Higher grade (B → A)
++44.1 ft water clarity

Green Lake

Beltrami County, Minnesota · 3.4 mi from Head Lake

+Higher grade (B → A)
++55.6 ft water clarity

Squaw Smith Lake

Beltrami County, Minnesota · 4.2 mi from Head Lake

+Higher grade (B → A)
++60.5 ft water clarity

Island Lake

Beltrami County, Minnesota · 4.2 mi from Head Lake

+Higher grade (B → A)
++47.4 ft water clarity

Chain: South Lake

Beltrami County, Minnesota · 4.3 mi from Head Lake

+Higher grade (B → A)
++31 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.