What is the cleanest lake near Lower Pigeon Lake?

Alice Lake in Itasca County holds a Grade B water quality score and is 2.7 miles from Lower Pigeon Lake.

Why is Lower Pigeon Lake not Grade A?

Lower Pigeon Lake holds Grade D, with about 4.2 ft of water clarity and 46 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 Lower Pigeon Lake in Minnesota, with strictly higher numeric grade scores and sufficient monitoring data.

Cleaner Lakes Than Lower Pigeon Lake, Top 5 Within 30 Miles, LakeQuality

Cleaner Lakes Than Lower Pigeon Lake

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

Lower Pigeon Lake carries a Grade D (Poor) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Alice Lake (Itasca County, Grade B, 2.7 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.

Alice Lake

Itasca County, Minnesota · 2.7 mi from Lower Pigeon Lake

+Two grade letters higher (D → B)
++4.3 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (12 vs 46 µg/L)

Greeley Lake

Itasca County, Minnesota · 2.9 mi from Lower Pigeon Lake

+Two grade letters higher (D → B)
++4.8 ft water clarity

Third River Flowage Lake

Itasca County, Minnesota · 5.8 mi from Lower Pigeon Lake

+Two grade letters higher (D → B)
++3.2 ft water clarity

Middle Pigeon Lake

Itasca County, Minnesota · 1.6 mi from Lower Pigeon Lake

+Higher grade (D → C)
++3.3 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (29.5 vs 46 µg/L)

Cut Foot Sioux Lake

Itasca County, Minnesota · 5.2 mi from Lower Pigeon Lake

+Higher grade (D → C)
++3.3 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (30 vs 46 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.