What is the cleanest lake near Mountain Lake?

Fish Lake in Jackson County holds a Grade C water quality score and is 8.7 miles from Mountain Lake.

Why is Mountain Lake not Grade A?

Mountain Lake holds Grade F, with about 1.2 ft of water clarity and 148.5 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 Mountain Lake in Minnesota, with strictly higher numeric grade scores and sufficient monitoring data.

Cleaner Lakes Than Mountain Lake, Top 4 Within 30 Miles, LakeQuality

Cleaner Lakes Than Mountain Lake

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

Mountain Lake carries a Grade F (Very Poor) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 4 lakes hold a higher grade. Fish Lake (Jackson County, Grade C, 8.7 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.

Fish Lake

Jackson County, Minnesota · 8.7 mi from Mountain Lake

+Two grade letters higher (F → C)
++3.3 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (35 vs 148.5 µg/L)

Bingham Lake

Cottonwood County, Minnesota · 5.3 mi from Mountain Lake

+Higher grade (F → D)
++2.8 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (73.5 vs 148.5 µg/L)

Cottonwood Lake

Cottonwood County, Minnesota · 9.1 mi from Mountain Lake

+Higher grade (F → D)
++2.7 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (86 vs 148.5 µg/L)

Wellner-Hageman Reservoir

Brown County, Minnesota · 14 mi from Mountain Lake

+Higher grade (F → D)
++2.5 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (45 vs 148.5 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.