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 we do grade, 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)

8,367

Median of top 50

10/50

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	NR
2	Mille Lacs Lake	Aitkin	128,250 acres	42 ft	NR
3	Upper Red Lake	Beltrami	119,294 acres	15 ft	D
4	Steamboat Bay Lake	Cass	103,444 acres	150 ft	A
5	Lake Winnibigoshish	Cass	56,471 acres	69.8 ft	C
6	Third River Flowage Lake	Itasca	56,471 acres	69.8 ft	C
7	East Vermilion Lake	St. Louis	39,272 acres	76 ft	NR
8	Lac la Croix Lake	St. Louis	29,597 acres	168 ft	NR
9	Basswood Lake	Lake	25,953 acres	111 ft	NR
10	Kabetogama Lake	St. Louis	24,034 acres	80 ft	NR
11	Drewery Lake	Beltrami	15,958 acres	120 ft	C
12	Minnetonka Lake	Hennepin	14,206 acres	113 ft	C
13	Otter Tail Lake	Otter Tail	14,079 acres	120 ft	A
14	Pepin Lake	Pepin	12,299 acres	60 ft	NR
15	Namakan Lake	St. Louis	12,159 acres	-	NR
16	Big Stone Lake	Big Stone	11,889 acres	-	NR
17	Pelican Lake	St. Louis	11,546 acres	38 ft	NR
18	Crooked Lake	Lake	10,360 acres	165 ft	NR
19	Upper Estuary Lake	St. Louis	10,255 acres	55 ft	C
20	Swan Lake	Nicollet	10,095 acres	-	NR
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	NR
24	Lake St Croix	Pierce	8,393 acres	78 ft	B
25	Pool of Lake St Croix	Washington	8,393 acres	78 ft	C
26	Pelican Lake	Crow Wing	8,367 acres	104 ft	A
27	Minnewaska Lake	Pope	8,050 acres	32 ft	A
28	Whitefish Lake	Crow Wing	7,714 acres	138 ft	A
29	Birch Lake	Lake	7,554 acres	-	NR
30	Dead Lake	Otter Tail	7,546 acres	65 ft	A
31	Trout Lake	St. Louis	7,375 acres	-	NR
32	Burntside Lake	St. Louis	7,314 acres	126 ft	A
33	Nett Lake	Koochiching	7,275 acres	-	NR
34	Birch Lake	St. Louis	7,074 acres	25 ft	C
35	Pokegama Lake	Itasca	6,721 acres	112 ft	A
36	Bemidji Lake	Beltrami	6,596 acres	76 ft	A
37	Thief Lake	Marshall	6,498 acres	-	NR
38	Osakis Lake	Todd	6,389 acres	73 ft	D
39	North Long Lake	Crow Wing	6,190 acres	97 ft	A
40	Big Sandy Lake	Aitkin	6,125 acres	84 ft	C
41	Miltona Lake	Douglas	5,731 acres	105 ft	A
42	West Battle Lake	Otter Tail	5,615 acres	108 ft	A
43	Green Lake	Kandiyohi	5,569 acres	110 ft	A
44	Lida Lake	Otter Tail	5,523 acres	58 ft	A
45	Broadwater Bay Lake	Cass	5,520 acres	54 ft	A
46	Lake Lida	Otter Tail	5,424 acres	-	NR
47	Rush Lake	Otter Tail	5,276 acres	68 ft	C
48	Ten Mile Lake	Cass	5,080 acres	208 ft	A
49	Cass Lake Pike Bay	Cass	4,756 acres	95 ft	A
50	Big Pine Lake	Otter Tail	4,728 acres	76 ft	C

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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, 10 sit on a dammed river (reservoirs) and 40 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 8,367 acres (Pelican 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 →