What is the cleanest lake near Margaret Lake?

Edna Lake in Crow Wing County holds a Grade A water quality score and is 3.8 miles from Margaret Lake.

Why is Margaret Lake not Grade A?

Margaret Lake holds Grade C, with about 5.5 ft of water clarity and 41 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 Margaret Lake in Minnesota, with strictly higher numeric grade scores and sufficient monitoring data.

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

Cleaner Lakes Than Margaret Lake

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

Margaret Lake carries a Grade C (Fair) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Edna Lake (Crow Wing County, Grade A, 3.8 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.

Edna Lake

Crow Wing County, Minnesota · 3.8 mi from Margaret Lake

+Two grade letters higher (C → A)
++12.5 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (9 vs 41 µg/L)

Upper Gull Lake

Cass County, Minnesota · 2.3 mi from Margaret Lake

+Two grade letters higher (C → A)
++4.5 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (19 vs 41 µg/L)

Ray Lake

Cass County, Minnesota · 2.4 mi from Margaret Lake

+Two grade letters higher (C → A)
++4.5 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (11 vs 41 µg/L)

Roy Lake

Crow Wing County, Minnesota · 2.5 mi from Margaret Lake

+Two grade letters higher (C → A)
++6.5 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (11 vs 41 µg/L)

Nisswa Lake

Crow Wing County, Minnesota · 3.4 mi from Margaret Lake

+Two grade letters higher (C → A)
++6 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (11 vs 41 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.