1
AAmes Lake
Itasca County, Minnesota · 3.7 mi from Little Sand Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++1.8 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (15 vs 27 µg/L)
Cleaner Lakes Than Little Sand Lake
5 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Little Sand Lake carries a Grade B (Good) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Ames Lake (Itasca County, Grade A, 3.7 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
2
ALittle Whitefish Lake
Itasca County, Minnesota · 2.5 mi from Little Sand Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++3.3 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (14 vs 27 µg/L)
3
ARush Island Lake
Itasca County, Minnesota · 3.6 mi from Little Sand Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++2.6 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (15 vs 27 µg/L)
4
ASand Lake
Itasca County, Minnesota · 5.3 mi from Little Sand Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++4.8 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (18 vs 27 µg/L)
5
BAlice Lake
Itasca County, Minnesota · 6.9 mi from Little Sand Lake
- +Higher overall water quality score
- +Lower phosphorus (12 vs 27 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.