Late afternoon sun over Slim Lake, scattering a bright path across wind-textured water

Clearwater County Lake Quality

Minnesota, 110 lakes, measured by Minnesota PCA

Clearwater County in Minnesota carries 110 monitored lakes — one of the lake-richer counties in our dataset. Coverage that dense usually reflects active lake-association sampling alongside state-agency monitoring. 37 of those lakes carry recent nutrient and algae readings. The county-level summary describes that subset, not every water body listed. The county-wide picture is low-to-moderate phosphorus with clear summer transparency across most monitored lakes.

Most of the county's monitored lakes are shallow, under 50 feet, which means wind keeps the water column mixed all summer and sediment-bound phosphorus releases back into the surface layer whenever the bottom is disturbed. Clearwater Lake has the lowest nutrient and algae readings in the county.

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Where to stay near Clearwater County

Top-rated places to stay near Clearwater County

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Quick Answers for Clearwater County

Cleanest lakes in Clearwater County →Cleanest lakes in Minnesota →Best swimming lakes in Minnesota →

Planning a trip? Check special fishing regulations for Clearwater Lake, whether the fish are safe to eat, and the best times to fish — or browse the full Minnesota regulations index.

Fishing in Clearwater County

Clearwater County Fishing Guide

Fish species and the cleanest lakes in Clearwater County

DNR Reports (40)

Minnesota DNR LakeFinder resources for lakes in Clearwater County. browse all reports →

These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).

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Fisheries Lake Survey — Waptus
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Walker Brook
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Second
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Rockstad
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Pine
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Pickerel
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Peterson
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Ozawindib
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Minnow
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Minerva
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — McKenzie
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Long Lost
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Long
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Lone
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Lomond
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Little Bass
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Lindberg
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Johnson
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Itasca
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Island
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Hoot Owl
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Heart
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — First
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Falk
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Elk
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Cox
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Clearwater
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fisheries Lake Survey — Bagley
Fisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Aquatic Plant Report — Bagley (1701)
Aquatic Plant Report · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Public Water Access Sites — Bagley
Public Water Access Sites · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Aquatic Plant Report — Clearwater (1712)
Aquatic Plant Report · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fish Stocking History — Clearwater
Fish Stocking History · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Public Water Access Sites — Clearwater
Public Water Access Sites · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Aquatic Plant Report — Cox (1423)
Aquatic Plant Report · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Aquatic Plant Report — East Four-Legged (1722)
Aquatic Plant Report · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Aquatic Plant Report — Elk (1375)
Aquatic Plant Report · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fish Stocking History — Elk
Fish Stocking History · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Public Water Access Sites — Elk
Public Water Access Sites · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Aquatic Plant Report — Falk (1713)
Aquatic Plant Report · MN DNR LakeFinder
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Fish Stocking History — Falk
Fish Stocking History · MN DNR LakeFinder

All Lakes in Clearwater County

110 lakes · 37 ranked on readings, 73 without enough sampling37 lakes ranked on readings · 73 without enough sampling, hidden

Include not-rated lakes (73)

#	Lake	Clarity	Phosphorus	Algae	Trophic	Max Depth	Access
1	Clearwater LakeClearwater	10 ft	16 µg/L	3.2 µg/L	No recent samples	65 ft	✓ Public
2	Long LakeClearwater	20.5 ft	7 µg/L	1.4 µg/L	No recent samples	80 ft	✓ Public
3	Island LakeClearwater	14.1 ft	15 µg/L	2.8 µg/L	No recent samples	58 ft	✓ Public
4	Peterson LakeClearwater	11.3 ft	22 µg/L	4.9 µg/L	No recent samples	70 ft	✓ Public
5	Rock LakeClearwater	11.2 ft	16.5 µg/L	4.9 µg/L	No recent samples	No recent samples	✓ Public
6	Elk LakeClearwater	12 ft	20 µg/L	2.1 µg/L	No recent samples	93 ft	✓ Public
7	Pine LakeClearwater	10.2 ft	20 µg/L	4.4 µg/L	No recent samples	15 ft	✓ Public
8	Lone LakeClearwater	19.4 ft	7 µg/L	1.8 µg/L	No recent samples	70 ft	✓ Public
9	Morrison LakeClearwater	12 ft	13 µg/L	4 µg/L	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
10	Little Rock LakeClearwater	15.1 ft	9.5 µg/L	3 µg/L	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
11	Walker Brook LakeClearwater	11.1 ft	20 µg/L	4.5 µg/L	No recent samples	45 ft	✓ Public
12	Bagley LakeClearwater	12.1 ft	20 µg/L	3.2 µg/L	No recent samples	39 ft	✓ Public
13	Minnow LakeClearwater	10.5 ft	14.5 µg/L	4.5 µg/L	No recent samples	24 ft	✓ Public
14	Lomond LakeClearwater	10.1 ft	20.5 µg/L	5.1 µg/L	No recent samples	45 ft	✓ Public
15	Long Lost LakeClearwater	22 ft	10.5 µg/L	2.4 µg/L	No recent samples	63 ft	✓ Public
16	Falk LakeClearwater	12.8 ft	14 µg/L	2.7 µg/L	No recent samples	33 ft	✓ Public
17	Big Lasalle LakeClearwater	10.2 ft	10.5 µg/L	3.2 µg/L	No recent samples	48 ft	✓ Public
18	Waptus LakeClearwater	14.1 ft	15 µg/L	2.7 µg/L	No recent samples	45 ft	✓ Public
19	Schantzen LakeClearwater	16.1 ft	9.5 µg/L	1.6 µg/L	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
20	Ozawindib LakeClearwater	19 ft	7 µg/L	2.8 µg/L	No recent samples	80 ft	✓ Public
21	Hoot Owl LakeClearwater	12.1 ft	10.5 µg/L	2.6 µg/L	No recent samples	78 ft	Carry-in
22	Mckenzie LakeClearwater	12.6 ft	13 µg/L	1.6 µg/L	No recent samples	17 ft	✓ Public
23	Kibbee LakeClearwater	9 ft	13 µg/L	2.5 µg/L	No recent samples	No recent samples	✓ Public
24	Cesar LakeClearwater	11.2 ft	17.5 µg/L	4.1 µg/L	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
25	Jackson LakeClearwater	8.9 ft	15.5 µg/L	4.7 µg/L	No recent samples	No recent samples	✓ Public
26	Andrews LakeClearwater	8.9 ft	16.5 µg/L	3.4 µg/L	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
27	Pickerel LakeClearwater	16.1 ft	8 µg/L	1.4 µg/L	No recent samples	60 ft	✓ Public
28	Little Bass LakeClearwater	No recent samples	15 µg/L	6.4 µg/L	No recent samples	35 ft	✓ Public
29	Johnson LakeClearwater	7.7 ft	26 µg/L	7.6 µg/L	No recent samples	70 ft	✓ Public
30	Minerva LakeClearwater	7 ft	26 µg/L	7.5 µg/L	No recent samples	16 ft	✓ Public
31	Second LakeClearwater	7.4 ft	21 µg/L	7.8 µg/L	No recent samples	47 ft	✓ Public
32	Spike LakeClearwater	8.5 ft	24 µg/L	7.7 µg/L	No recent samples	No recent samples	✓ Public
33	Itasca LakeClearwater	7.9 ft	26.5 µg/L	14.1 µg/L	No recent samples	40 ft	✓ Public
34	First LakeClearwater	9.5 ft	19 µg/L	7.9 µg/L	No recent samples	36 ft	✓ Public
35	Lower Rice LakeClearwater	No recent samples	38 µg/L	2 µg/L	No recent samples	No recent samples	Carry-in
36	Rockstad LakeClearwater	4.3 ft	47.5 µg/L	28.9 µg/L	No recent samples	18 ft	✓ Public
37	Lindberg LakeClearwater	4.9 ft	33 µg/L	27.4 µg/L	No recent samples	19 ft	✓ Public
	Heart LakeClearwater	17 ft	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	55 ft	Carry-in
	Cox LakeClearwater	14 ft	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	30 ft	✓ Public
	East Four-Legged LakeClearwater	4.6 ft	11 µg/L	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Carry-in
	March LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Moon LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Anderson LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Buckboard LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Sugar Bush LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Glanders LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	35 ft	Not recorded
	Long Lost LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	53 ft	✓ Public
	Luethi LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Upper Camp LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Lower Camp LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	27 ft	Not recorded
	Gardner LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Bohall LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	North Twin LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	South Twin LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Clarke LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	McKay LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Mikenna LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Morrison LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Bogus LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Gill LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Sucker LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Mud LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Mallard LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	17 ft	Not recorded
	Robinson LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Upper Rice LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	13 ft	Not recorded
	Mud LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Daniel LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	26.2 ft	Not recorded
	Monson LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Sabe LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Third LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Perch LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Sand LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Mud LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Pike LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Taflin LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Erie LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Carver LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Deep LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	75.8 ft	✓ Public
	Johnson LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Stony LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Little Pine LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Hegre LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Willborg LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Solberg LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Stenlund LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	West Four Legged LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	6.6 ft	Not recorded
	Long LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	36.1 ft	✓ Public
	Pickerel LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Fence LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Haggerty LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Anderson LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Nels Olson LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Seventh LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Schoolhouse LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Fourth LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Fifth LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Gurneau LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Sandy LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Blue LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Gimiwan LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Bailey LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Richards LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Miskogineu LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	6.6 ft	Not recorded
	Roosevelt LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Collier LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Cahill LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Smith LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Curtis LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Third LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded
	Good LakeClearwater	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	No recent samples	Not recorded

NR = no nutrient or algae reading on record. The measurements are published as the authority reports them. Where the data comes from.

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