1
ASchantzen Lake
Clearwater County, Minnesota · 3.5 mi from Little Elbow Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++9.2 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (9.5 vs 21 µg/L)
Cleaner Lakes Than Little Elbow Lake
5 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Little Elbow Lake carries a Grade B (Good) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Schantzen Lake (Clearwater County, Grade A, 3.5 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
2
ABass Lake
Mahnomen County, Minnesota · 3.1 mi from Little Elbow Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++6.2 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (10 vs 21 µg/L)
3
ASouth Twin Lake
Mahnomen County, Minnesota · 4.1 mi from Little Elbow Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++3.3 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (14 vs 21 µg/L)
4
AElbow Lake
Becker County, Minnesota · 4.3 mi from Little Elbow Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++5.2 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (14 vs 21 µg/L)
5
AMccraney Lake
Mahnomen County, Minnesota · 4.7 mi from Little Elbow Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++5.2 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.