What is the best boating lake near Duluth?

Pike Lake in St. Louis County is the top-ranked boating lake near Duluth, with a water quality grade of A (11 miles away).

How many lakes are near Duluth for boating?

30 lakes within driving distance of Duluth match the boating filters used on this page.

Best Lakes for Boating Near Duluth

Minnesota

30 boating lakes within driving distance of Duluth, Minnesota, ranked by water quality and boating-specific filters. Filtered for at least 100 acres and public access. The largest lakes with boat-worthy water are listed first.

Within reasonable driving distance of Duluth 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 boating-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 boating use case is less useful than a grade-decent lake that does.

#	Lake	County	Grade	Distance	Clarity	Depth
1	Pike Lake	St. Louis	A	11 mi	18 ft	60 ft
2	Smith Lake	St. Louis	A	26.8 mi	15 ft	51 ft
3	Long Lake	Bayfield	A	38.5 mi	16.2 ft	28 ft
4	Hart Lake	Bayfield	A	39.5 mi	21.5 ft	54 ft
5	Sand Bar Lake	Bayfield	A	39.7 mi	19 ft	49 ft
6	Twin Bear Lake	Bayfield	A	39.9 mi	19.5 ft	59 ft
7	Eagle Lake	Bayfield	A	40.4 mi	17 ft	52 ft
8	Whitefish Lake	Douglas	A	40.5 mi	24.5 ft	102 ft
9	Whitefish Lake	Douglas	A	41.7 mi	25.3 ft	102 ft
10	Sturgeon Lake	Pine	A	41.8 mi	17 ft	40 ft
11	Bardon Lake	Douglas	A	41.8 mi	27 ft	102 ft
12	Sturgeon Lake	Pine	A	42 mi	16.8 ft	40 ft
13	Leader Lake	Douglas	A	42.6 mi	15.3 ft	56 ft
14	Bond Lake	Douglas	A	42.9 mi	18 ft	67 ft
15	Bony Lake	Bayfield	A	43.2 mi	19.8 ft	55 ft
16	Middle Eau Claire Lake	Bayfield	A	43.5 mi	18.2 ft	66 ft
17	Lower Eau Claire Lake	Bayfield	A	44.1 mi	18.5 ft	41 ft
18	Upper Eau Claire Lake	Bayfield	A	44.4 mi	18.7 ft	92 ft
19	Lost Lake	St. Louis	A	46.5 mi	23 ft	44 ft
20	Ely Lake	St. Louis	A	49.2 mi	17.1 ft	70 ft
21	Big Bass Lake	Washburn	A	49.9 mi	17.9 ft	27 ft
22	Big Bass Lake	Washburn	A	49.9 mi	-	27 ft
23	Big Lake	Carlton	A	25.7 mi	10 ft	25 ft
24	White Lake	St. Louis	A	31.2 mi	11.5 ft	29 ft
25	Stewart Lake	Lake	A	32.2 mi	10 ft	20 ft
26	Tomahawk Lake	Bayfield	A	40.1 mi	14 ft	42 ft
27	Cadotte Lake	St. Louis	A	41.9 mi	10.2 ft	18 ft
28	Lower Eau Claire Lake	Bayfield	A	43.7 mi	14.1 ft	41 ft
29	Red Lake	Douglas	A	45 mi	12 ft	37 ft
30	Pleasant Lake	St. Louis	A	45.7 mi	10 ft	33 ft

Other activities near Duluth

Swimming near Duluth →Fishing near Duluth →Kayaking near Duluth →All lakes near Duluth →

Where to stay near Duluth

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Top-rated places to stay near Duluth

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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.