What lakes are in the Minnesota River Watershed?

167 monitored lakes drain through the Minnesota River Watershed, including Unnamed Lake, Marion Lake, Brickyard Lake, and others. The watershed spans Minnesota.

What is the cleanest lake in the Minnesota River Watershed?

Unnamed Lake in Nicollet County is the highest-rated lake in the Minnesota River Watershed with a Grade A.

What is a HUC8 watershed?

HUC8 (Hydrologic Unit Code, 8-digit) is the USGS classification for "subbasins" — the level at which major named river systems are usually identified. The Minnesota River Watershed corresponds to HUC8 07020012.

Minnesota River Watershed, Lakes & Water Quality

The Minnesota River basin draining southern Minnesota — agricultural country with high phosphorus loading and a classic test case for nutrient-driven lake degradation.

Reviewed by LakeQuality Editorial Team · Updated Aug 2, 2026

Counties in this watershed

Big Stone, Lac qui Parle, Yellow Medicine, Renville, Redwood, Brown, Nicollet, Blue Earth, Le Sueur, Sibley, Scott, Carver, Dakota

Monitored Lakes (167)

#	Lake	County	Grade	Clarity	Area	Depth
1	Unnamed Lake	Nicollet	A	5.6 ft	12 acres	35 ft
2	Marion Lake	Dakota	A	7 ft	530 acres	21 ft
3	Brickyard Lake	Carver	A	15 ft	14 acres	43 ft
4	Minnewashta Lake	Carver	A	11.5 ft	680 acres	70 ft
5	Courthouse Lake	Carver	A	18.9 ft	12 acres	57 ft
6	Lac Lavon Lake	Dakota	A	12.1 ft	66 acres	32 ft
7	Holland Lake	Dakota	A	27.9 ft	38 acres	55 ft
8	O'Brien Lake	Dakota	A	18 ft	-	-
9	Piersons Lake	Carver	A	9.9 ft	267 acres	40 ft
10	Fireman'S Lake	Carver	A	10.7 ft	9 acres	23 ft
11	Sunfish Lake	Dakota	A	9.7 ft	-	-
12	Rogers Lake	Dakota	A	6.6 ft	102 acres	8 ft
13	St Joe Lake	Carver	A	8.4 ft	20 acres	52 ft
14	Cate'S Lake	Scott	A	5.6 ft	-	-
15	Horseshoe Lake	Dakota	C	6.7 ft	-	-
16	Unnamed Lake	Dakota	C	6 ft	-	-
17	Lemay Lake	Dakota	C	6.9 ft	36 acres	15.5 ft
18	Blue Lake	Scott	C	1.9 ft	70 acres	50 ft
19	Auburn Lake	Carver	C	6.4 ft	291 acres	84 ft
20	Fish Lake	Dakota	C	7.2 ft	31 acres	33.5 ft
21	Fish Lake	Le Sueur	C	11.8 ft	77 acres	55 ft
22	Allie Lake	Renville	C	3 ft	509 acres	12 ft
23	Blackhawk Lake	Dakota	C	7.9 ft	40 acres	12 ft
24	Crystal Lake	Dakota	C	7 ft	293 acres	37 ft
25	Ann Lake	Carver	C	8.7 ft	116 acres	45 ft
26	Sleepy Eye Lake	Brown	C	3.3 ft	241 acres	21 ft
27	Thomas Lake	Dakota	C	5.6 ft	41 acres	8 ft
28	Zumbra-Sunny Lake	Carver	C	9.8 ft	271 acres	58 ft
29	Carlson Lake	Dakota	C	7.5 ft	12 acres	19 ft
30	Schultz Lake	Dakota	C	8.5 ft	-	-
31	Mcdonough Lake	Dakota	C	4.5 ft	18 acres	13 ft
32	Upper Prior Lake	Scott	C	5 ft	386 acres	50 ft
33	Lower Prior Lake	Scott	C	10 ft	956 acres	60 ft
34	Waconia Lake	Carver	C	7.3 ft	3,080 acres	37 ft
35	East Thomas Lake	Dakota	C	5.6 ft	12 acres	19 ft
36	Bald Lake	Dakota	C	5.6 ft	-	-
37	O'Dowd Lake	Scott	C	5.5 ft	301 acres	22 ft
38	Jensen Lake	Dakota	C	4.6 ft	-	-
39	Roemhildts Lake	Le Sueur	C	10.2 ft	74 acres	60 ft
40	Gun Club Lake	Dakota	C	3.5 ft	103 acres	9.5 ft
41	Hornbean Lake	Dakota	C	7.2 ft	-	-
42	Cobblestone Lake	Dakota	C	3.9 ft	35 acres	18 ft
43	Orchard Lake	Dakota	C	5.9 ft	238 acres	33 ft
44	Sunset Pond	Dakota	C	4.9 ft	44 acres	10.5 ft
45	Earley Lake	Dakota	C	5.9 ft	-	-
46	Oak Leaf Lake	Nicollet	C	3.9 ft	-	-
47	Central Mystic Lake	Scott	C	-	-	-
48	Deans Lake	Scott	C	-	-	-
49	Pike Lake	Scott	D	2.3 ft	49 acres	9 ft
50	Unnamed Lake	Scott	D	2.9 ft	-	-
51	Ballantyne Lake	Blue Earth	D	2.5 ft	371 acres	58 ft
52	Fish Lake	Scott	D	3.9 ft	176 acres	28 ft
53	Pitts Lake	Dakota	D	4.9 ft	-	-
54	Volney Lake	Le Sueur	D	5.5 ft	269 acres	67 ft
55	Rice Lake	Scott	D	1.7 ft	-	-
56	Crystal Lake	Scott	D	6.8 ft	31 acres	26 ft
57	Oak Lake	Carver	D	4.5 ft	333 acres	11 ft
58	Bavaria Lake	Carver	D	5.1 ft	166 acres	66 ft
59	Wood Lake	Yellow Medicine	D	3 ft	485 acres	9 ft
60	Lotus Lake	Carver	D	5.7 ft	245 acres	29 ft
61	Steiger Lake	Carver	D	5 ft	166 acres	37 ft
62	Buck Lake	Scott	D	2.6 ft	-	-
63	Lucy Lake	Carver	D	3.9 ft	88 acres	20 ft
64	Spring Lake	Scott	D	6.2 ft	592 acres	37 ft
65	Frances Lake	Le Sueur	D	6 ft	927 acres	60 ft
66	Muewissen Lake	Carver	D	1.8 ft	-	-
67	Lee Lake	Dakota	D	4.8 ft	21 acres	14 ft
68	Keller Lake	Dakota	D	4.1 ft	55 acres	7 ft
69	Scotch Lake	Le Sueur	D	2.6 ft	598 acres	11 ft
70	Wassermann West Lake	Carver	D	5.2 ft	-	-
71	Madison Lake	Blue Earth	D	4 ft	1,447 acres	59 ft
72	Schmitt Lake	Dakota	D	3.6 ft	-	-
73	Bur Oaks Pond	Dakota	D	4.6 ft	10 acres	9 ft
74	Quigley Lake	Dakota	D	2 ft	-	-
75	Myers Lake	Carver	D	3 ft	-	-
76	High Island Lake	Sibley	D	2.1 ft	1,340 acres	6.5 ft
77	O'Leary Lake	Dakota	F	2.6 ft	31 acres	33.5 ft
78	Long Lake	Dakota	F	1.6 ft	-	-
79	Jonathan Lake	Carver	F	1.6 ft	31 acres	-
80	Tetonka Lake	Le Sueur	F	3 ft	1,358 acres	35 ft
81	Clear Lake	Brown	F	0.8 ft	252 acres	8 ft
82	Clear Lake	Le Sueur	F	1.2 ft	279 acres	18 ft
83	Eagle Lake	Carver	F	2 ft	183 acres	14 ft
84	Washington Lake	Le Sueur	F	4.5 ft	1,516 acres	51 ft
85	East Auburn Lake	Carver	F	5 ft	-	-
86	Grace Lake	Carver	F	2.6 ft	20 acres	22 ft
87	Cedar Lake	Scott	F	2 ft	793 acres	13 ft
88	Emily Lake	Le Sueur	F	2 ft	300 acres	37 ft
89	Wassermann Lake	Carver	F	2.3 ft	-	-
90	Thompson Lake	Dakota	F	3.3 ft	8 acres	8 ft
91	George Lake	Blue Earth	F	2.2 ft	88 acres	28 ft
92	Jefferson Lake	Le Sueur	F	2 ft	700 acres	-
93	Big Woods Lake	Carver	F	1.5 ft	31 acres	-
94	Goose Lake	Carver	F	1.2 ft	302 acres	10 ft
95	Crystal Lake	Blue Earth	F	1.5 ft	379 acres	8 ft
96	Benton Lake	Carver	F	1 ft	-	-
97	Rebecca Lake	Dakota	F	2.6 ft	82 acres	15 ft
98	Wellner-Hageman Reservoir	Brown	F	3.7 ft	75 acres	24 ft
99	Duck Lake	Blue Earth	F	2.8 ft	290 acres	25 ft
100	Gerhardt Lake	Dakota	F	2 ft	-	-