Updated August 2026

Largest Lakes by Surface Area

The 50 largest inland lakes ranked by surface area in acres, across our 38-state dataset. (The Great Lakes are excluded.) Big lakes offer diverse recreation but can vary widely in water quality from one bay to the next.

The largest lake on the index is Lake Okee Rim Canal in Glades County, FL, at 467,200 acres. The top 50 span 22 states, with Minnesota (9), Texas (9), Arkansas (4) most represented.

Surface area comes from state DNR lake surveys and USACE National Inventory of Dams records for reservoirs; water-quality grades come from EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys and state monitoring programs.

Top 3 Largest Lakes

#1NR

Lake Okee Rim Canal

Glades County, FL

Surface area 467,200 acres, Grade .

#2NR

Rainy Lake

Koochiching County, MN

Surface area 210,200 acres, Grade . Max depth 161 ft.

#3NR

Toledo Bend Reservoir Southwest of Haddens

Newton County, TX

Surface area 182,490 acres, Grade .

Rank	Lake	County	State	Area	Depth	Grade
1	Lake Okee Rim Canal	Glades	FL	467,200 acres	-	NR
2	Rainy Lake	Koochiching	MN	210,200 acres	161 ft	NR
3	Toledo Bend Reservoir Southwest of Haddens	Newton	TX	182,490 acres	-	NR
4	Lake Powell	Coconino	AZ	160,784 acres	-	NR
5	Mille Lacs Lake	Aitkin	MN	128,250 acres	42 ft	NR
6	Steamboat Bay Lake	Cass	MN	103,444 acres	150 ft	A
7	Amistad Reservoir	Val Verde	TX	89,000 acres	-	NR
8	Fremont Bridge Lake	Klamath	OR	85,000 acres	-	D
9	Lake Winnibigoshish	Cass	MN	56,471 acres	69.8 ft	C
10	Third River Flowage Lake	Itasca	MN	56,471 acres	69.8 ft	C
11	Lake Hartwell	Hart	GA	55,950 acres	-	C
12	Lake Koocanusa	Lincoln	MT	46,500 acres	-	NR
13	E Butte Lake	Sierra	NM	42,750 acres	-	D
14	Alamo Lake	La Paz	AZ	41,500 acres	-	NR
15	Lake Ouachita	Garland	AR	40,100 acres	-	C
16	Yate Lake	Tallapoosa	AL	40,000 acres	-	A
17	Brantley Reservoir Deep	Eddy	NM	39,301 acres	-	NR
18	East Vermilion Lake	St. Louis	MN	39,272 acres	76 ft	NR
19	Lake Seminole	Jackson	FL	37,500 acres	-	B
20	Lake Ogallala	Keith	NE	30,500 acres	-	D
21	Weic Lake	Cherokee	AL	30,200 acres	-	D
22	Lac la Croix Lake	St. Louis	MN	29,597 acres	168 ft	NR
23	Ray Roberts Lake	Cooke	TX	29,350 acres	-	D
24	Lake Millwood	Little River	AR	29,000 acres	-	D
25	Beaver Lake	Carroll	AR	28,220 acres	-	A
26	Cheney Lake	Sedgwick	KS	28,000 acres	-	D
27	Lake Fork Reservoir	Wood	TX	27,690 acres	-	NR
28	Banks Lake	Grant	WA	27,000 acres	-	A
29	Lake Richard B. Russell	Elbert	GA	26,653 acres	-	C
30	Basswood Lake	Lake	MN	25,953 acres	111 ft	NR
31	West Point Lake	Troup	GA	25,864 acres	-	C
32	Stockton Lake	Cedar	MO	24,900 acres	-	C
33	Carlyle Lake	Clinton	IL	24,580 acres	-	F
34	Pepin Lake	Pepin	WI	24,550 acres	60 ft	NR
35	Kabetogama Lake	St. Louis	MN	24,034 acres	80 ft	NR
36	Whitney Lake	Hill	TX	23,560 acres	-	D
37	Twin Buttes Reservoir	Tom Green	TX	23,508 acres	-	NR
38	Glendo Reservoir Lacustrine Littoral	Platte	WY	23,320 acres	-	NR
39	Lewisville Lake	Denton	TX	23,280 acres	-	D
40	Petenwell Flowage Lake	Juneau	WI	23,173 acres	44 ft	D
41	Norfork Lake	Baxter	AR	22,000 acres	-	C
42	Lavon Lake	Collin	TX	21,400 acres	-	F
43	Broken Bow Lake	McCurtain	OK	20,500 acres	-	NR
44	Dam Lake	Pittsylvania	VA	20,400 acres	-	A
45	Lake Gaston	Northampton	NC	20,300 acres	-	C
46	Fort Gibson Lake	Wagoner	OK	19,900 acres	-	NR
47	Lake Audubon	McLean	ND	19,095 acres	-	B
48	Lake O the Pines Mid Lake	Marion	TX	18,700 acres	-	F
49	Caney Fork River Lake	DeKalb	TN	18,220 acres	-	NR
50	Jamestown Reservoir	Stutsman	ND	17,427 acres	-	C

Largest Lakes by State

Largest Lakes in Minnesota

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Rainy Lake	Koochiching	210,200 acres	NR
Mille Lacs Lake	Aitkin	128,250 acres	NR
Steamboat Bay Lake	Cass	103,444 acres	A

See all largest lakes in Minnesota →

Largest Lakes in Wisconsin

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Pepin Lake	Pepin	24,550 acres	NR
Petenwell Flowage Lake	Juneau	23,173 acres	D
Chippewa Flowage -North of Cranberry Bars Lake	Sawyer	14,593 acres	C

See all largest lakes in Wisconsin →

Largest Lakes in Illinois

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Carlyle Lake	Clinton	24,580 acres	F
Lake Springfield	Sangamon	4,224 acres	NR
Decatur Lake	Macon	3,335 acres	D

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Largest Lakes in Michigan

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Lake Independence	Marquette	2,071 acres	NR
Gull Lake	Kalamazoo	2,050 acres	NR
Lake Bellaire	Antrim	1,520 acres	NR

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Largest Lakes in Iowa

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Rathbun Lake	Appanoose	11,013 acres	C
Lake Macbride	Johnson	950 acres	D
Big Creek Lake	Polk	885 acres	F

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Largest Lakes in Ohio

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Caesar Creek Lake	Warren	2,830 acres	D
Pleasant Hill Reservoir	Richland	2,600 acres	NR
Charles Mill Reservoir	Ashland	1,350 acres	NR

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Largest Lakes in New York

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Otisco Lake	Onondaga	2,291 acres	NR
Lake Placid	Essex	2,173 acres	NR
Hemlock Lake	Livingston	2,054 acres	NR

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Largest Lakes in Missouri

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Stockton Lake	Cedar	24,900 acres	C
Pomme de Terre Lake	Hickory	7,820 acres	D
Montrose Lake	Henry	1,700 acres	F

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Largest Lakes in Indiana

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Lake Lemon	Monroe	1,650 acres	NR
Webster Lake	Kosciusko	774 acres	NR
Lake George	Steuben	538 acres	NR

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Largest Lakes in North Dakota

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Lake Audubon	McLean	19,095 acres	B
Jamestown Reservoir	Stutsman	17,427 acres	C
Lake Tschida	Grant	10,953 acres	C

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Largest Lakes in Florida

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Lake Okee Rim Canal	Glades	467,200 acres	NR
Lake Seminole	Jackson	37,500 acres	B
Rod Res Dam East Lake	Putnam	7,807 acres	NR

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Largest Lakes in Colorado

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
John Martin Reservoir	Bent	11,590 acres	NR
Lake Granby Dam Bottom	Grand	7,260 acres	B
Lake Meredith	Crowley	6,223 acres	NR

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Largest Lakes in North Carolina

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Lake Gaston	Northampton	20,300 acres	C
High Rock Lake	Davidson	15,180 acres	F
B Everett Jordan Lake	Chatham	13,940 acres	D

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Largest Lakes in Vermont

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Lake Bomoseen	Rutland	2,360 acres	A
Harriman Reservoir	Windham	1,875 acres	NR
Seymour Lake	Orleans	1,777 acres	A

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Largest Lakes in Texas

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Toledo Bend Reservoir Southwest of Haddens	Newton	182,490 acres	NR
Amistad Reservoir	Val Verde	89,000 acres	NR
Ray Roberts Lake	Cooke	29,350 acres	D

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Largest Lakes in Oregon

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Fremont Bridge Lake	Klamath	85,000 acres	D
Wickiup Reservoir	Deschutes	11,330 acres	C
Crane Prairie Reservoir	Deschutes	4,940 acres	D

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Largest Lakes in Arkansas

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Lake Ouachita	Garland	40,100 acres	C
Lake Millwood	Little River	29,000 acres	D
Beaver Lake	Carroll	28,220 acres	A

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Largest Lakes in Oklahoma

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Broken Bow Lake	McCurtain	20,500 acres	NR
Fort Gibson Lake	Wagoner	19,900 acres	NR
Kaw Lake	Kay	16,750 acres	NR

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Largest Lakes in Kansas

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Cheney Lake	Sedgwick	28,000 acres	D
Waconda Lake	Mitchell	13,500 acres	D
Tuttle Creek Lake	Riley	13,350 acres	D

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Largest Lakes in Nebraska

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Lake Ogallala	Keith	30,500 acres	D
Harlan County Reservoir	Harlan	13,600 acres	D
Swanson Reservoir	Hitchcock	7,940 acres	B

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Largest Lakes in Nevada

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Rye Patch Reservoir	Pershing	12,144 acres	C
Wildhorse Reservoir	Elko	3,035 acres	F
Willow Creek Reservoir East	Elko	480 acres	NR

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Largest Lakes in Arizona

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Lake Powell	Coconino	160,784 acres	NR
Alamo Lake	La Paz	41,500 acres	NR
Lake Pleasant	Yavapai	9,957 acres	NR

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Largest Lakes in Idaho

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Palisades Lake	Bonneville	16,230 acres	C
Lake Walcott	Cassia	12,400 acres	D
Island Park Lake	Fremont	8,680 acres	D

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Largest Lakes in Montana

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Lake Koocanusa	Lincoln	46,500 acres	NR
Clark Canyon Reservoir	Beaverhead	6,606 acres	C
Holter Reservoir	Lewis and Clark	4,550 acres	NR

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Largest Lakes in New Mexico

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
E Butte Lake	Sierra	42,750 acres	D
Brantley Reservoir Deep	Eddy	39,301 acres	NR
Caballo Lake	Sierra	14,530 acres	F

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Largest Lakes in Tennessee

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Caney Fork River Lake	DeKalb	18,220 acres	NR
Stones River Lake	Davidson	14,200 acres	NR
Ocoee River Lake	Polk	1,620 acres	NR

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Largest Lakes in Alabama

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Yate Lake	Tallapoosa	40,000 acres	A
Weic Lake	Cherokee	30,200 acres	D
Danw Lake	Wilcox	17,200 acres	B

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Largest Lakes in Virginia

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Dam Lake	Pittsylvania	20,400 acres	A
Leesville Lakea-Topb-Middlec-Bot	Pittsylvania	3,270 acres	A
Dam Lake	Franklin	2,880 acres	A

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Largest Lakes in Kentucky

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Barren River Lake	Barren	10,000 acres	NR
Cave Run Lake	Rowan	8,270 acres	NR
Nolin Lake	Edmonson	5,790 acres	B

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Largest Lakes in Utah

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Strawberry Lake	Wasatch	17,163 acres	C
Willard South Marina Lake	Box Elder	9,950 acres	NR
Cutler Reservoir	Cache	5,460 acres	D

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Largest Lakes in Washington

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Banks Lake	Grant	27,000 acres	A
Debra Jane Lake	Pierce	2,570 acres	NR
Rimrock Reservoir	Yakima	2,525 acres	C

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Largest Lakes in Wyoming

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Glendo Reservoir Lacustrine Littoral	Platte	23,320 acres	NR
Keyhole Reservoir	Crook	9,411 acres	B
Buffalo Bill Reservoir Riverine Littoral	Park	8,324 acres	NR

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Largest Lakes in Georgia

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Lake Hartwell	Hart	55,950 acres	C
Lake Richard B. Russell	Elbert	26,653 acres	C
West Point Lake	Troup	25,864 acres	C

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Largest Lakes in Massachusetts

Lake	County	Surface area	Grade
Wachusett Reservoir	Worcester	4,160 acres	NR
Webster Lake	Worcester	1,442 acres	NR
Sudbury Reservoir	Worcester	1,300 acres	A

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Frequently Asked Questions

Lake Okee Rim Canal in Glades County, FL, is the largest on our index at 467,200 acres. (We rank inland lakes — the Great Lakes are excluded.)

Surface area comes from state DNR lake surveys and, for reservoirs, US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) National Inventory of Dams records. Area is reported in acres at normal pool elevation. Reservoirs rise and fall with management, so their listed area is the long-term normal rather than a single-day reading.

It varies more within a big lake than between lakes. A large lake can have a clean, deep main basin and a murky, algae-prone bay fed by a tributary, so a single grade can hide wide swings. Surface area alone does not predict quality — depth, watershed land use, and flushing rate matter far more.

This ranking covers inland lakes and reservoirs. The Great Lakes dwarf every inland lake by orders of magnitude, so including them would crowd out the lakes anglers and swimmers actually visit. We rank the largest inland waters across our 38-state coverage instead.

Cleanest Lakes →Clearest Water →Deepest Lakes →Worst Water Quality →Best Fishing →

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