1
AIsland Lake
St. Louis County, Minnesota · 2.9 mi from Helen Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++6.5 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (8.5 vs 17 µg/L)
Cleaner Lakes Than Helen Lake
2 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Helen Lake carries a Grade B (Good) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 2 lakes hold a higher grade. Island Lake (St. Louis County, Grade A, 2.9 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
2
AHow 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.