1
APat Martin Lake
Carlton County, Minnesota · 2.1 mi from Simian Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++9.1 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (15 vs 25 µg/L)
Cleaner Lakes Than Simian Lake
4 higher-graded lakes within 30 miles, ranked by grade improvement and proximity.
Simian Lake carries a Grade B (Good) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 4 lakes hold a higher grade. Pat Martin Lake (Carlton County, Grade A, 2.1 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.
2
AThird Lake
Carlton County, Minnesota · 5.3 mi from Simian Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++5.7 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (13.5 vs 25 µg/L)
3
ALost Lake
St. Louis County, Minnesota · 6.1 mi from Simian Lake
- +Higher grade (B → A)
- ++10.6 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (17 vs 25 µg/L)
4
BWest Twin Lake
St. Louis County, Minnesota · 3.3 mi from Simian Lake
- +Higher overall water quality score
- ++8.8 ft water clarity
- +Lower phosphorus (16.5 vs 25 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.