Best Lakes for Boating Near St. Cloud
Minnesota
30 boating lakes within driving distance of St. Cloud, 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.
St. Cloud sits in a lake-rich part of the upper Midwest: 30 graded lakes within reach, average grade A. Big Watab Lake (A) leads the cluster.
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 | Big Watab Lake | Stearns | A | 14 mi | 20.5 ft | 123 ft |
| 2 | Big Fish Lake | Stearns | A | 15 mi | 20 ft | 70 ft |
| 3 | Sugar Lake | Wright | A | 17.9 mi | 16.5 ft | 69 ft |
| 4 | West Sylvia Lake | Wright | A | 22 mi | 22 ft | 97 ft |
| 5 | Upper Maple Lake | Wright | A | 24.7 mi | 17.2 ft | 76 ft |
| 6 | Big Lake | Sherburne | A | 25.1 mi | 17.5 ft | 48 ft |
| 7 | Cedar Lake | Morrison | A | 28.6 mi | 16.2 ft | 88 ft |
| 8 | Pine Lake | Morrison | A | 29.2 mi | 15.1 ft | 59 ft |
| 9 | Charlotte Lake | Wright | A | 34.9 mi | 17.1 ft | 46 ft |
| 10 | George Lake | Kandiyohi | A | 45.5 mi | 15 ft | 34 ft |
| 11 | Pine Island Lake | Todd | A | 46.5 mi | 15.5 ft | 26 ft |
| 12 | Alexander Lake | Morrison | A | 48.4 mi | 16.5 ft | 64 ft |
| 13 | Big Spunk Lake | Stearns | A | 15 mi | 10 ft | 38 ft |
| 14 | Bass Lake | Wright | A | 16.8 mi | 13.5 ft | 34 ft |
| 15 | Pleasant Lake | Wright | A | 19.8 mi | 11.5 ft | 74 ft |
| 16 | Ida Lake | Wright | A | 21.9 mi | 13.1 ft | 60 ft |
| 17 | Ann Lake | Sherburne | A | 24.9 mi | 11.5 ft | 26 ft |
| 18 | Big Lake | Sherburne | A | 25 mi | 13.6 ft | 48 ft |
| 19 | Little Birch Lake | Todd | A | 34.1 mi | 13 ft | 89 ft |
| 20 | Spectacle Lake | Isanti | A | 36.7 mi | 13.8 ft | 51.5 ft |
| 21 | Long Lake | Kandiyohi | A | 37.7 mi | 10.5 ft | 46 ft |
| 22 | Minnie-Belle Lake | Meeker | A | 40.2 mi | 14.4 ft | 49 ft |
| 23 | Sullivan Lake | Morrison | A | 40.8 mi | 10.8 ft | 57 ft |
| 24 | Peavy Lake | Morrison | A | 41.1 mi | 13.6 ft | 63 ft |
| 25 | Green Lake | Kandiyohi | A | 41.7 mi | 14.1 ft | 110 ft |
| 26 | Outlet of Onamia Lake on the Rum River | Mille Lacs | A | 42.1 mi | - | 10 ft |
| 27 | Outlet of Ogechie Lake on the Rum River | Mille Lacs | A | 43.4 mi | - | 6 ft |
| 28 | Little Long Lake | Hennepin | A | 48 mi | 18.7 ft | 45 ft |
| 29 | Pleasant Lake | Stearns | B | 7.3 mi | 13 ft | 33 ft |
| 30 | Carnelian Lake | Stearns | B | 14.5 mi | 12 ft | 36 ft |
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.