What is the cleanest lake near Thirty-Six Lake?

Loon Lake in St. Louis County holds a Grade A water quality score and is 6.4 miles from Thirty-Six Lake.

Why is Thirty-Six Lake not Grade A?

Thirty-Six Lake holds Grade C, with about 3 ft of water clarity and 22 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 Thirty-Six Lake in Minnesota, with strictly higher numeric grade scores and sufficient monitoring data.

Cleaner Lakes Than Thirty-Six Lake, Top 5 Within 30 Miles, LakeQuality

Cleaner Lakes Than Thirty-Six Lake

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

Thirty-Six Lake carries a Grade C (Fair) water quality score. Within 30 miles, 5 lakes hold a higher grade. Loon Lake (St. Louis County, Grade A, 6.4 mi away) is the closest meaningful upgrade.

Loon Lake

St. Louis County, Minnesota · 6.4 mi from Thirty-Six Lake

+Two grade letters higher (C → A)
++18.7 ft water clarity

Joe Martin Lake

St. Louis County, Minnesota · 7.2 mi from Thirty-Six Lake

+Two grade letters higher (C → A)
++33.7 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (9 vs 22 µg/L)

Lac Lake

Carlton County, Minnesota · 6.1 mi from Thirty-Six Lake

+Two grade letters higher (C → A)
++11.6 ft water clarity
+Lower phosphorus (15.5 vs 22 µg/L)

Deadfish Lake

Carlton County, Minnesota · 6 mi from Thirty-Six Lake

+Higher overall water quality score

Miller Lake

Carlton County, Minnesota · 6.1 mi from Thirty-Six Lake

+Higher overall water quality score

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.