What is the best swimming lake near Alexandria?

Cowdry Lake in Douglas County is the top-ranked swimming lake near Alexandria, with a water quality grade of A (2.2 miles away).

How many lakes are near Alexandria for swimming?

30 lakes within driving distance of Alexandria match the swimming filters used on this page.

Best Lakes for Swimming Near Alexandria

Minnesota

30 swimming lakes within driving distance of Alexandria, Minnesota, ranked by water quality and swimming-specific filters. Filtered for grade A or B water quality, low algae (chlorophyll-a under 15 µg/L), and public access. Always check local advisories on the day you swim.

Within reasonable driving distance of Alexandria sit 30 graded lakes — a lake-dense area that gives residents real choice on any given weekend. The average grade across the nearby set is A.

The swimming-specific ranking layered on top of the LakeGrade rubric is what produces the list below: a grade-good lake that does not also support the swimming use case is less useful than a grade-decent lake that does.

#	Lake	County	Grade	Distance	Clarity	Depth
1	Cowdry Lake	Douglas	A	2.2 mi	17 ft	-
2	Lottie Lake	Douglas	A	2.6 mi	16.1 ft	-
3	Stoney Lake	Douglas	A	2.7 mi	19 ft	-
4	Stony Lake	Douglas	A	2.8 mi	15.7 ft	-
5	Latoka Lake	Douglas	A	2.9 mi	19 ft	-
6	North Union Lake	Douglas	A	3.3 mi	20.3 ft	-
7	Carlos Lake	Douglas	A	4.7 mi	17.2 ft	-
8	Mina Lake	Douglas	A	4.8 mi	16 ft	-
9	Ida Lake	Douglas	A	7.8 mi	16.5 ft	-
10	Miltona Lake	Douglas	A	10.7 mi	18.8 ft	-
11	Chippewa Lake	Douglas	A	10.8 mi	15.1 ft	-
12	Moon Lake	Douglas	A	11.2 mi	20 ft	-
13	Whiskey Lake	Douglas	A	11.3 mi	18.8 ft	-
14	Moses Lake	Douglas	A	16 mi	16.2 ft	-
15	Eagle Lake	Otter Tail	A	24.8 mi	22.6 ft	-
16	Stuart Lake	Otter Tail	A	28.9 mi	16.1 ft	-
17	Darling Lake	Douglas	A	2.6 mi	14.7 ft	-
18	Burgen Lake	Douglas	A	3.3 mi	12 ft	-
19	Brophy Lake	Douglas	A	3.5 mi	14.4 ft	-
20	Louise Lake	Douglas	A	3.5 mi	14.5 ft	-
21	Andrew Lake	Douglas	A	4.8 mi	13.9 ft	-
22	Maple Lake	Douglas	A	7.5 mi	13.7 ft	-
23	Blackwell Lake	Douglas	A	9.4 mi	11.5 ft	-
24	South Oscar Lake	Douglas	A	11.4 mi	16.7 ft	-
25	Vermont Lake	Douglas	A	13.8 mi	14.3 ft	-
26	Signalness Lake	Pope	A	24.8 mi	10.7 ft	-
27	Linka Lake	Pope	A	27.2 mi	10.2 ft	-
28	Little Birch Lake	Todd	A	28.9 mi	14 ft	-
29	Long Lake	Otter Tail	A	29.1 mi	12.1 ft	-
30	Clitherall Lake	Otter Tail	A	29.3 mi	14.3 ft	-

Other activities near Alexandria

Fishing near Alexandria →Kayaking near Alexandria →Boating near Alexandria →All lakes near Alexandria →

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.