McCarthy Beach State Park
McCarthy Beach State Park is a state park in Minnesota. It was established in 1945. 8 lakes with water-quality readings are within 15 miles of the park, including Sturgeon Lake, Side Lake, Perch Lake.
McCarthy Beach 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. The park is paired with 8 measured lakes nearby, enough for a multi-lake visit; each lake page carries its own clarity, phosphorus and algae readings.
For visitors planning around water quality, the nearby-lakes list below is the practical tool: a park is only as good as the lake you intend to use it from, and the readings for that lake give you the clarity, nutrient, and algal-pressure context you need.
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Official Resources
Nearby Lakes (within 15 mi)
Lakes closest to McCarthy Beach State Park, weighted by size. Click a lake for its water-quality readings, fish species, and depth.
| Lake | County | Surface Area | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sturgeon Lake | St. Louis | 1,585 acres | 0.5 mi |
| Side Lake | St. Louis | 368 acres | 0.5 mi |
| Perch Lake | St. Louis | 344 acres | 1.5 mi |
| Little Sturgeon Lake | St. Louis | 272 acres | 1.6 mi |
| West Sturgeon Lake | Itasca | 117 acres | 2.1 mi |
| South Sturgeon Lake | St. Louis | 204 acres | 2.7 mi |
| Beatrice Lake | Itasca | 124 acres | 2.7 mi |
| Unnamed Lake | St. Louis | - | 2.4 mi |
Other Parks in the Area
- Iron Range Off-Highway Vehicle State Recreation Area— State Recreation Area, 16.3 mi
- Scenic State Park— State Park, 25.3 mi
- Hill Annex Mine State Park— State Park, 25.8 mi
- Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park— State Park, 38.3 mi
Where to stay near McCarthy Beach State Park
Compare cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near McCarthy Beach State Park — find a place to stay close to the park and its nearby lakes.
Top-rated places to stay near McCarthy Beach State Park
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.