Clearest Lakes in Missouri — Water Quality Rankings (2026)

The single clearest lake in Missouri is Lake Capri in St. Francois County, with a Secchi depth of 16.3 feet — meaning a Secchi disk lowered from the surface disappears at that depth. Lake Capri holds an overall water quality grade of A. The 25 clearest lakes in Missouri are ranked below by 2026 measurements.

How clear are Missouri's clearest lakes?

Across the 228 Missouri lakes with Secchi clarity readings in our 2026 dataset, the 25 clearest range from 7.7 to 16.3 feet of visibility. Lake Capri sits at the top, 1.9 ft clearer than the next lake on the list, well above the 11.7-foot median of this leading group — a spread that shows how quickly clarity falls off once you move past a state's handful of truly pristine waters.

The clearest water is not spread evenly. Taney County alone accounts for 5 of the 25 top-ranked lakes, with the rest drawn from 16 other counties. That clustering follows the terrain: deep, glacially carved basins ringed by forest take in little sediment or fertilizer runoff, so phosphorus stays low and the water stays transparent.

Clarity and overall health usually align here: 22 of these 25 lakes also earn an A- or B-range overall grade. Where the two diverge — a clear lake carrying a weaker grade — the cause is typically elevated phosphorus that transparency alone can't reveal, which is why our grade combines phosphorus and chlorophyll-a with Secchi depth rather than relying on clarity by itself.

Rank	Lake	County	Secchi Depth	Grade	Max Depth	Area
1	Lake Capri	St. Francois	16.3 ft	A	-	112 acres
2	Oasis Ranch Upper Lake	Audrain	14.4 ft	A	-	-
3	Timberline Lakes	St. Francois	14.3 ft	A	-	42 acres
4	Lake Marseilles-Terre du Lac Lakes	St. Francois	14.1 ft	A	-	56 acres
5	Oasis Ranch Lake	Audrain	14.1 ft	A	-	-
6	Fourche Creek Lake	Ripley	13.6 ft	A	-	49 acres
7	Lake Taneycomo Ab. Bee Cr. Arm	Taney	13.3 ft	A	-	-
8	Council Bluff Lake	Iron	13.1 ft	A	-	-
9	Lake Wauwanoka	Jefferson	12.9 ft	A	-	-
10	Lake Taneycomo	Taney	12.6 ft	A	-	-
11	Alpine Lake	Warren	12.6 ft	A	-	325 acres
12	Port Perry Lake	Perry	12 ft	A	-	187 acres
13	Mccormack Lake	Oregon	11.7 ft	NR	-	10 acres
14	Lake Shayne-Terre du Lac Lakes	Washington	11.1 ft	A	-	51 acres
15	Table Rock Lake	Taney	10 ft	NR	-	43,100 acres
16	Goose Creek Lake	Ste. Genevieve	9.9 ft	A	-	379 acres
17	Lake Taneycomo @ Rockaway Beach	Taney	8.7 ft	A	-	-
18	Little Prairie Lake	Phelps	8.6 ft	NR	-	100 acres
19	Fox Valley Lake	Clark	8.5 ft	A	-	96 acres
20	Bull Shoals Lake	Taney	8.1 ft	A	-	-
21	Lake Nehai Tonkayea	Chariton	8 ft	A	-	250 acres
22	Finger Lakes	Boone	7.9 ft	A	-	79 acres
23	Table Rock L. @ Mouth of James R. Arm Lake	Stone	7.9 ft	A	-	-
24	Lake Marie	Mercer	7.8 ft	A	-	30 acres
25	Lake Konstanz	Warren	7.7 ft	A	-	19 acres

Where to stay near Missouri's clearest lakes

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Clearest lakes across all states →Cleanest lakes in Missouri (combined score) →All Missouri lakes →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the clearest lake in Missouri?

Lake Capri is the clearest lake in Missouri by Secchi depth, with water transparency of 16.3 feet. Secchi depth is measured by lowering a black-and-white disk until it disappears from view — deeper readings mean clearer water. Located in St. Francois County, Lake Capri has a water quality grade of A (Excellent).

How is water clarity measured?

Water clarity is measured by Secchi depth, named after the 19th-century Italian astronomer Pietro Angelo Secchi who developed the method. A standardized black-and-white disk is lowered into the water on a rope; the depth (in feet or meters) at which the disk disappears from view is recorded. Greater Secchi depth means clearer water — usually a sign of low sediment, low phosphorus, and limited algae growth.

What makes a lake clear?

Lake clarity is driven by three factors: low suspended sediment (clay, silt), low nutrient load (especially phosphorus, which fuels algae), and low chlorophyll-a (active algae biomass). Deep glacial lakes with rocky basins and forested watersheds — common in northern Missouri — tend to be clearest because they have little soil runoff and limited nutrient input. Shallow agricultural-watershed lakes are typically less clear because they receive more sediment and fertilizer runoff.

Is the clearest lake the cleanest?

Not always. Clarity (Secchi depth) is one of three indicators we use; the others are total phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. A lake can be very clear but still have elevated phosphorus that just hasn't bloomed yet, or chlorophyll-a from a recent bloom that's still settling. The most reliable measure of overall lake health is the combined grade, which weights all three signals. See our companion cleanest-lakes ranking for Missouri for the combined-score list.

How does Missouri compare to other states?

Missouri's clearest waters compete with the most pristine lakes in our 38-state dataset, where top-tier lakes typically register Secchi depths of 15–25 feet. Nationally, the gold standard is Crater Lake in Oregon (~100 ft) and Lake Tahoe (~65 ft).

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys + state DNR Secchi sampling, 2026.