Two canoes crossing open water between forested points in the Boundary Waters

Updated August 2026

Biggest Lake in Minnesota: Red Lake (288,800 acres)

Red Lake (Upper and Lower) is Minnesota's largest inland lake per the Minnesota DNR. Below: 50 Minnesota lakes ranked by surface area.

The largest lake in Minnesota is Red Lake (Upper and Lower) at 288,800 acres , in Beltrami and Clearwater County, according to the Minnesota DNR. Lake Superior is larger at 962,700 acres in Minnesota. Great Lake shared with Wisconsin, Michigan and Ontario. Lake of the Woods also exceeds Red Lake (307,010 acres in Minnesota) but is shared with Canada.

Red Lake (Upper and Lower) isn't in our water-quality index — we grade lakes with enough EPA Water Quality Portal samples to score, which leaves out many large reservoirs and border waters. The ranking below covers the 50 Minnesota lakes with nutrient and algae readings, led by Rainy Lake.

Source: Minnesota DNR (2013 (MN DNR page "Reviewed 2013"; retrieved 2026-07-30)). The table below ranks the Minnesota lakes in our own index by surface area.

Lakes with area data

210,200

Largest (acres)

7,074

Median of top 50

12/50

Reservoirs (vs natural)

Reading Minnesota's size profile

Minnesota's largest lake by surface area is Rainy Lake in Koochiching County, spanning 210,200 acres and reaching 161 ft deep. Most of Minnesota's biggest waters are natural basins left by glaciers, with stable shorelines and deep main basins.

Surface area is a poor proxy for water quality on its own — a large lake can hold a clean, deep core and a nutrient-loaded bay at the same time. Each lake below links to its full page with nutrient readings, clarity, depth, and EPA impairment status. Area figures come from state DNR surveys and the USACE National Inventory of Dams; water-quality readings come from EPA and state monitoring data.

The 50 biggest lakes in Minnesota by surface area

#	Lake	County	Surface area	Max depth
1	Rainy Lake	Koochiching	210,200 acres	161 ft
2	Mille Lacs Lake	Aitkin	128,250 acres	42 ft
3	Upper Red Lake	Beltrami	119,294 acres	15 ft
4	Lac la Croix Lake	St. Louis	29,597 acres	168 ft
5	Kabetogama Lake	St. Louis	24,034 acres	80 ft
6	Minnetonka Lake	Hennepin	14,206 acres	113 ft
7	Otter Tail Lake	Otter Tail	14,079 acres	120 ft
8	Pepin Lake	Pepin	12,299 acres	60 ft
9	Namakan Lake	St. Louis	12,159 acres	149.9 ft
10	Big Stone Lake	Big Stone	11,889 acres	15.1 ft
11	Pelican Lake	St. Louis	11,546 acres	38 ft
12	Crooked Lake	Lake	10,360 acres	165 ft
13	Upper Estuary Lake	St. Louis	10,255 acres	55 ft
14	Swan Lake	Nicollet	10,095 acres	3.5 ft
15	Gull Lake	Cass	10,010 acres	80 ft
16	Bowstring Lake	Itasca	9,528 acres	32 ft
17	Sand Point Lake	St. Louis	8,527 acres	184 ft
18	Pelican Lake	Crow Wing	8,367 acres	104 ft
19	Minnewaska Lake	Pope	8,050 acres	32 ft
20	Whitefish Lake	Crow Wing	7,714 acres	138 ft
21	Birch Lake	Lake	7,554 acres	26.2 ft
22	Dead Lake	Otter Tail	7,546 acres	65 ft
23	Trout Lake	St. Louis	7,375 acres	93.9 ft
24	Burntside Lake	St. Louis	7,314 acres	126 ft
25	Nett Lake	Koochiching	7,275 acres	-
26	Birch Lake	St. Louis	7,074 acres	25 ft
27	Pokegama Lake	Itasca	6,721 acres	112 ft
28	Bemidji Lake	Beltrami	6,596 acres	76 ft
29	Thief Lake	Marshall	6,498 acres	4.5 ft
30	Osakis Lake	Todd	6,389 acres	73 ft
31	North Long Lake	Crow Wing	6,190 acres	97 ft
32	Big Sandy Lake	Aitkin	6,125 acres	84 ft
33	Miltona Lake	Douglas	5,731 acres	105 ft
34	Green Lake	Kandiyohi	5,569 acres	110 ft
35	Lida Lake	Otter Tail	5,523 acres	58 ft
36	Broadwater Bay Lake	Cass	5,520 acres	54 ft
37	Lake Lida	Otter Tail	5,424 acres	46 ft
38	Rush Lake	Otter Tail	5,276 acres	68 ft
39	Ten Mile Lake	Cass	5,080 acres	208 ft
40	Cass Lake Pike Bay	Cass	4,756 acres	95 ft
41	Big Pine Lake	Otter Tail	4,728 acres	76 ft
42	Snowbank Lake	Lake	4,655 acres	150 ft
43	Whiteface Reservoir	St. Louis	4,567 acres	35 ft
44	Star Lake	Otter Tail	4,486 acres	94 ft
45	Ida Lake	Douglas	4,445 acres	106 ft
46	Ball Club Lake	Itasca	4,335 acres	85 ft
47	Brule Lake	Cook	4,327 acres	78 ft
48	Heron Lake	Jackson	4,279 acres	3.5 ft
49	Sand Lake	Itasca	4,202 acres	70 ft
50	Deer Lake	Itasca	4,093 acres	121 ft

Get updates on Minnesota's largest lakes

New water-quality readings for Minnesota lakes as Minnesota PCA publishes them. Unsubscribe anytime.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the largest lake in Minnesota?

Red Lake (Upper and Lower), at 288,800 acres, in Beltrami and Clearwater County. Lake Superior is larger at 962,700 acres in Minnesota. Great Lake shared with Wisconsin, Michigan and Ontario. Lake of the Woods also exceeds Red Lake (307,010 acres in Minnesota) but is shared with Canada. Source: Minnesota DNR, 2013 (MN DNR page "Reviewed 2013"; retrieved 2026-07-30).

How is lake surface area measured?

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 level. Reservoirs rise and fall with management and drought, so their listed area is the long-term normal rather than a single-day reading.

Are Minnesota's largest lakes natural or reservoirs?

Of the top 50 Minnesota lakes by area, 12 sit on a dammed river (reservoirs) and 38 are natural basins. Glacial states (MN, WI, MI, NY) skew natural; plains and southern states (MO, IA, ND, OH) skew toward reservoirs built for water supply, flood control, and recreation.

Do larger lakes have better water quality?

Not reliably. Quality 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 one reading can mask wide swings. Depth, watershed land use, and how fast the lake flushes matter far more than raw surface area.

How big is the typical Minnesota lake in this ranking?

Across the top 50 Minnesota lakes by surface area, the median is 7,074 acres (Birch Lake). This list is biased toward the biggest waters; the typical Minnesota lake is far smaller.

Where to stay near Minnesota's largest lakes

Planning a trip? Jump to live cabin, resort, and hotel availability near Minnesota's biggest lakes.

Deepest lakes in Minnesota →Cleanest lakes in Minnesota →Largest lakes (all states) →All Minnesota lakes →