Largest Lakes in Minnesota

50 Minnesota lakes with measured surface area, ranked by acreage. The biggest lake in Minnesota is Rainy Lake, which tops the list at 210,200 acres in Koochiching County.

Lakes with area data

210,200

Largest (acres)

8,050

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 report card with grade, clarity, depth, and EPA impairment status. Area figures come from state DNR surveys and the USACE National Inventory of Dams; grades come from EPA and state monitoring data.

The 50 biggest lakes in Minnesota by surface area

#	Lake	County	Surface area	Max depth	Grade
1	Rainy Lake	Koochiching	210,200 acres	161 ft	D
2	Rainy Lake	St. Louis	210,200 acres	161 ft	D
3	Mille Lacs Lake	Aitkin	128,250 acres	42 ft	B
4	Mille Lacs Lake	Mille Lacs	128,250 acres	42 ft	C
5	Upper Red Lake: West-Central	Beltrami	119,294 acres	15 ft	D
6	Steamboat Bay Lake	Cass	103,444 acres	150 ft	B
7	Lake Winnibigoshish	Cass	56,471 acres	69.8 ft	B
8	Third River Flowage Lake	Itasca	56,471 acres	69.8 ft	B
9	East Vermilion Lake	St. Louis	39,272 acres	76 ft	D
10	Lac la Croix Lake	St. Louis	29,597 acres	168 ft	C
11	Basswood Lake	Lake	25,953 acres	111 ft	C
12	Namakan Lake	St. Louis	24,066 acres	150 ft	C
13	Kabetogama Lake	St. Louis	24,034 acres	80 ft	D
14	Drewery Lake	Beltrami	15,958 acres	120 ft	B
15	Minnetonka Lake	Hennepin	14,206 acres	113 ft	B
16	Otter Tail Lake	Otter Tail	14,079 acres	120 ft	A
17	Pepin Lake	Pepin	12,299 acres	60 ft	F
18	Pelican Lake	St. Louis	11,546 acres	38 ft	C
19	Crooked Lake	Lake	10,360 acres	165 ft	C
20	Upper Estuary Lake	St. Louis	10,255 acres	55 ft	D
21	Gull Lake	Cass	10,010 acres	80 ft	A
22	Bowstring Lake	Itasca	9,528 acres	32 ft	C
23	Sand Point Lake	St. Louis	8,527 acres	184 ft	C
24	Lake St. Croix	Washington	8,393 acres	78 ft	B
25	Pelican Lake	Crow Wing	8,367 acres	104 ft	A
26	Minnewaska Lake	Pope	8,050 acres	32 ft	B
27	Whitefish Lake	Crow Wing	7,714 acres	138 ft	A
28	Dead Lake	Otter Tail	7,546 acres	65 ft	B
29	Burntside Lake	St. Louis	7,314 acres	126 ft	A
30	Birch Lake	St. Louis	7,074 acres	25 ft	C
31	Pokegama Lake	Itasca	6,721 acres	112 ft	A
32	Bemidji Lake	Beltrami	6,596 acres	76 ft	A
33	Osakis Lake	Todd	6,389 acres	73 ft	C
34	North Long Lake	Crow Wing	6,190 acres	97 ft	A
35	Big Sandy Lake	Aitkin	6,125 acres	84 ft	C
36	Miltona Lake	Douglas	5,731 acres	105 ft	A
37	West Battle Lake	Otter Tail	5,615 acres	108 ft	A
38	Green Lake	Kandiyohi	5,569 acres	110 ft	A
39	Lida Lake	Otter Tail	5,523 acres	58 ft	B
40	Broadwater Bay Lake	Cass	5,520 acres	54 ft	A
41	Rush Lake	Otter Tail	5,276 acres	68 ft	B
42	Ten Mile Lake	Cass	5,080 acres	208 ft	A
43	Cass Lake Pike Bay	Cass	4,756 acres	95 ft	A
44	Big Pine Lake	Otter Tail	4,728 acres	76 ft	B
45	Snowbank Lake	Lake	4,655 acres	150 ft	A
46	Whiteface Reservoir	St. Louis	4,567 acres	35 ft	F
47	Star Lake	Otter Tail	4,486 acres	94 ft	A
48	Ida Lake	Douglas	4,445 acres	106 ft	A
49	Ball Club Lake	Itasca	4,335 acres	85 ft	A
50	Brule Lake	Cook	4,327 acres	78 ft	B

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the largest lake in Minnesota?

The largest lake in Minnesota in the LakeGrade dataset is Rainy Lake in Koochiching County at 210,200 acres. Water quality grade: D, with a maximum depth of 161 ft.

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 grade 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 8,050 acres (Minnewaska 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 →