Jay Cooke State Park
Jay Cooke State Park is a state park in Carlton County. It was established in 1915. 8 graded lakes are within 15 miles of the park, including Upper Estuary Lake, Thomson Reservoir, Chub Lake.
Jay Cooke State Park is a Minnesota State Park covering an unrecorded acreage acres. State parks are the most heavily-developed of the public-land designations — campground, picnic, boat-launch, interpretive-center. 8 graded lakes are within easy reach of the park, with an average grade of C. Big Lake (A) is the cleanest of the set.
State parks pair well with the LakeGrade dataset: the park itself usually has interpretive signage explaining the local lake system, but the per-lake grade tells you which actual lake in the system to head to.
Nearby Graded Lakes (within 15 mi)
Lakes closest to Jay Cooke State Park, weighted by size. Click a lake for its full water quality grade, fish species, and depth.
| Lake | County | Grade | Surface Area | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Estuary Lake | St. Louis | D | 10,255 acres | 4.2 mi |
| Thomson Reservoir | Carlton | F | 390 acres | 3.5 mi |
| Chub Lake | Carlton | B | 313 acres | 6.4 mi |
| Hay Lake | Carlton | C | 140 acres | 7.2 mi |
| Big Lake | Carlton | A | 526 acres | 14.6 mi |
| Spirit Lake | St. Louis | D | - | 6.9 mi |
| Sand Lake | Carlton | C | 128 acres | 13.3 mi |
| Second Lake | Carlton | D | - | 8.9 mi |
Other Parks in the Area
- Moose Lake State Park— State Park, 24 mi
- Moose Lake State Recreation Area— State Recreation Area, 24 mi
- Savanna Portage State Park— State Park, 41.2 mi
- Banning State Park— State Park, 41.8 mi
Where to stay near Jay Cooke State Park
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Top-rated places to stay near Jay Cooke State Park
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.