Largest Lakes in North Dakota

50 North Dakota lakes with measured surface area, ranked by acreage. The biggest lake in North Dakota is Devils Lake, which tops the list at 140,000 acres in Ramsey County.

Lakes with area data

140,000

Largest (acres)

733

Median of top 50

28/50

Reservoirs (vs natural)

Reading North Dakota's size profile

North Dakota's largest lake by surface area is Devils Lake in Ramsey County, spanning 140,000 acres and reaching 58.1 ft deep. Most of North Dakota's biggest waters are reservoirs — dammed river valleys built for water supply, flood control, and recreation, so their footprints shift with pool level.

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 North Dakota by surface area

#	Lake	County	Surface area	Max depth	Grade
1	Devils Lake	Ramsey	140,000 acres	58.1 ft	C
2	Qacmainstdup Lake	Mercer	133,000 acres	-	B
3	Devils Lake	Benson	110,763 acres	58.1 ft	C
4	Lake Audubon	McLean	19,095 acres	59.4 ft	B
5	Western Stump Lake	Nelson	17,681 acres	77.1 ft	F
6	Jamestown Reservoir	Stutsman	17,427 acres	36.2 ft	D
7	Lake Tschida	Grant	10,953 acres	-	C
8	Lake Darling	Ward	9,655 acres	28.7 ft	D
9	Lake Darling	Renville	9,655 acres	28.7 ft	B
10	Dry Lake	Ramsey	5,471 acres	24.1 ft	D
11	Lake Ashtabula	Barnes	5,470 acres	42.8 ft	B
12	Lake Alice	Ramsey	3,067 acres	8 ft	D
13	Antelope Lake	Pierce	2,560 acres	24.3 ft	D
14	E. A. Patterson Lake	Stark	2,158 acres	18.4 ft	D
15	Bowman-Haley Dam Lake	Bowman	1,750 acres	27.8 ft	C
16	Twin Lakes	LaMoure	1,736 acres	40.3 ft	A
17	Powers Lake Dredge Site	Mountrail	1,699 acres	9.7 ft	C
18	Lake Metigoshe	Bottineau	1,620 acres	23.3 ft	C
19	Buffalo Lodge Lake	McHenry	1,395 acres	12.2 ft	C
20	Trenton Lake	Williams	1,011 acres	8.1 ft	C
21	Buffalo Lake	Pierce	990 acres	15.9 ft	F
22	Beaver Lake	Logan	953 acres	7.9 ft	C
23	Patterson Lake	Stark	946 acres	24.8 ft	B
24	Green Lake	McIntosh	906 acres	10.7 ft	D
25	Belourt Outlet Lake	Rolette	827 acres	24.5 ft	D
26	Juanita Lake	Foster	733 acres	9.9 ft	F
27	Lake Laretta	Nelson	683 acres	24 ft	D
28	Cherry Lake	Kidder	667 acres	10.7 ft	C
29	Nelson Lake	Oliver	660 acres	33.4 ft	D
30	Belcourt Center Lake	Rolette	635 acres	24.5 ft	D
31	Barnes Lake	Stutsman	552 acres	12 ft	D
32	Free Peoples Lake	Benson	544 acres	54 ft	A
33	Lake Lamoure	LaMoure	494 acres	31.4 ft	C
34	Spiritwood Lake	Stutsman	493 acres	54.7 ft	A
35	Morrison Lake	Ramsey	441 acres	14.1 ft	F
36	Mt Carmel Dam Lake	Cavalier	386 acres	31.2 ft	B
37	Harvey Dam Lake	Wells	360 acres	20.2 ft	C
38	South Golden Lake	Steele	330 acres	17 ft	C
39	North Golden Lake	Steele	313 acres	12.6 ft	C
40	Round Lake	McHenry	308 acres	16.7 ft	A
41	Jarvis Lake Center	Rolette	304 acres	26.3 ft	B
42	Hehn-Schaffer Lake	Stutsman	298 acres	26 ft	C
43	Homme Dam Lake	Walsh	290 acres	29.3 ft	B
44	Clark Lake	Stutsman	287 acres	21.9 ft	B
45	Sweetbriar Dam Lake	Morton	278 acres	29.9 ft	F
46	Stanley Reservoir	Mountrail	253 acres	22.5 ft	D
47	Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake	Towner	240 acres	26.9 ft	C
48	Bader Lake	Stutsman	239 acres	20.1 ft	C
49	Indian Creek Dam Lake	Hettinger	236 acres	30 ft	C
50	Larson Lake	Hettinger	235 acres	10.7 ft	C

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the largest lake in North Dakota?

The largest lake in North Dakota in the LakeGrade dataset is Devils Lake in Ramsey County at 140,000 acres. Water quality grade: C, with a maximum depth of 58.1 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 North Dakota's largest lakes natural or reservoirs?

Of the top 50 North Dakota lakes by area, 28 sit on a dammed river (reservoirs) and 22 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 North Dakota lake in this ranking?

Across the top 50 North Dakota lakes by surface area, the median is 733 acres (Juanita Lake). This list is biased toward the biggest waters; the typical North Dakota lake is far smaller.

Where to stay near North Dakota's largest lakes

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

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