What lakes are in the Rainy Lake Watershed?

374 monitored lakes drain through the Rainy Lake Watershed, including Long Lake, Long Lake, Sunshine Lake, and others. The watershed spans Minnesota.

What is the cleanest lake in the Rainy Lake Watershed?

Long Lake in Itasca County is the highest-rated lake in the Rainy Lake 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 Rainy Lake Watershed corresponds to HUC8 09030001.

Rainy Lake Watershed

Minnesota · 374 monitored lakes · 102 grade A · 91 grade B · HUC8 09030001

Rainy Lake and the Vermilion River basin draining north into Hudson Bay via the Rainy River and Lake of the Woods — the BWCA borderlands and Voyageurs National Park.

Reviewed by LakeQuality Editorial Team · Updated Jul 20, 2026

Counties in this watershed

St. Louis, Koochiching, Lake of the Woods, Itasca

Monitored Lakes (374)

#	Lake	County	Grade	Clarity	Area	Depth
1	Long Lake	Itasca	A	16.7 ft	155 acres	72 ft
2	Long Lake	Itasca	A	16.9 ft	134 acres	85 ft
3	Sunshine Lake	St. Louis	A	20 ft	79 acres	37 ft
4	Clear Lake	Itasca	A	14.9 ft	140 acres	30 ft
5	Bass Lake	Itasca	A	18.2 ft	122 acres	65 ft
6	Mcavity Lake	Itasca	A	17.3 ft	147 acres	29 ft
7	Little Wabana Lake	Itasca	A	24 ft	116 acres	57 ft
8	Pike Lake	St. Louis	A	18 ft	488 acres	60 ft
9	Maple Lake	Itasca	A	15.3 ft	255 acres	39 ft
10	Shallow Lake	Itasca	A	16.4 ft	539 acres	85 ft
11	Trout Lake	Itasca	A	16 ft	1,862 acres	135 ft
12	Trout Lake	Itasca	A	18 ft	1,743 acres	157 ft
13	Eagles Nest Lake	St. Louis	A	15.5 ft	1,028 acres	49 ft
14	Turtle Lake	Itasca	A	17.1 ft	120 acres	54 ft
15	Rice Lake	Itasca	A	15 ft	863 acres	68 ft
16	Mukooda Lake	St. Louis	A	16.6 ft	774 acres	78 ft
17	Pokegama Lake	Itasca	A	16.1 ft	6,721 acres	112 ft
18	Wabana Lake	Itasca	A	18 ft	2,221 acres	115 ft
19	Caribou Lake	Itasca	A	31 ft	247 acres	152 ft
20	Little Bass Lake	Itasca	A	17.7 ft	161 acres	62 ft
21	Napoleon Lake	Itasca	A	18 ft	138 acres	30 ft
22	Silver Lake	St. Louis	A	19.3 ft	46 acres	29 ft
23	Hatch Lake	Itasca	A	15.3 ft	226 acres	88 ft
24	North Star Lake	Itasca	A	19 ft	832 acres	90 ft
25	Little Trout Lake	Itasca	A	22 ft	86 acres	80 ft
26	Bluewater Lake	Itasca	A	18.5 ft	364 acres	120 ft
27	Dunning Lake	Itasca	A	18.5 ft	-	-
28	Majestic Lake	St. Louis	A	15.3 ft	52 acres	51 ft
29	Schultz Lake	St. Louis	A	15.5 ft	210 acres	48 ft
30	Smith Lake	St. Louis	A	15 ft	193 acres	51 ft
31	Little Armstrong Lake	St. Louis	A	15.5 ft	70 acres	26 ft
32	Rose Lake	St. Louis	A	-	59 acres	31 ft
33	Three Island Lake	Itasca	A	29 ft	250 acres	66 ft
34	Little Long Lake	Itasca	A	17 ft	305 acres	61 ft
35	Little Long Lake	St. Louis	A	21 ft	322 acres	45 ft
36	Burntside Lake	St. Louis	A	16 ft	7,314 acres	126 ft
37	Mirror Lake	Itasca	A	18 ft	109 acres	45 ft
38	Siseebakwet Lake	Itasca	A	19 ft	1,210 acres	105 ft
39	Armstrong Lake	St. Louis	A	16.2 ft	382 acres	34 ft
40	Lost Lake	St. Louis	A	23 ft	124 acres	44 ft
41	Majestic Lake	St. Louis	A	17.1 ft	52 acres	51 ft
42	Deep Lake	St. Louis	A	17.2 ft	73 acres	50 ft
43	St James Pit Lake	St. Louis	A	47.6 ft	124 acres	381 ft
44	Johnson Lake	Itasca	A	15.7 ft	434 acres	88 ft
45	St. Mary'S Lake	St. Louis	A	15 ft	234 acres	44 ft
46	Ely Lake	St. Louis	A	17.1 ft	723 acres	70 ft
47	Cruiser Lake	St. Louis	A	25.4 ft	118 acres	91 ft
48	Big Ole Lake	Itasca	A	21.8 ft	217 acres	65 ft
49	Larson Lake	Itasca	A	21 ft	208 acres	177 ft
50	Ball Club Lake	Itasca	A	16 ft	4,335 acres	85 ft
51	Pokegama Lake	Itasca	A	17.5 ft	6,721 acres	112 ft
52	Burns Lake	Itasca	A	16.1 ft	181 acres	100 ft
53	Big Island Lake	Itasca	A	16.4 ft	244 acres	42 ft
54	O'Reilly Lake	Itasca	A	16 ft	189 acres	79 ft
55	Gale Lake	Itasca	A	17.1 ft	86 acres	50 ft
56	Superior Lake	St. Louis	A	-	-	-
57	Iron Chief Complex Lake	St. Louis	A	24.5 ft	207 acres	262.1 ft
58	Little Jay Gould Lake	Itasca	A	21.5 ft	150 acres	56 ft
59	Chase Lake	Itasca	A	21.7 ft	211 acres	95 ft
60	Leighton Lake	Itasca	A	21.7 ft	245 acres	63 ft
61	Clubhouse Lake	Itasca	A	18 ft	265 acres	103 ft
62	Merrill Lake	St. Louis	A	16 ft	-	-
63	Miner'S Pit West Lake	St. Louis	A	23.1 ft	141 acres	140 ft
64	Erskine Lake	Itasca	A	18 ft	40 acres	56 ft
65	Little Sandy Lake	St. Louis	A	-	-	-
66	Ames Lake	Itasca	A	10 ft	564 acres	51 ft
67	Joe Martin Lake	St. Louis	A	14.5 ft	68 acres	77 ft
68	Deer Lake	Itasca	A	13.1 ft	4,093 acres	121 ft
69	Five Island Lake	Itasca	A	13 ft	214 acres	33 ft
70	Sand Lake	Itasca	A	13.2 ft	715 acres	60 ft
71	Island Lake	St. Louis	A	14.5 ft	222 acres	65 ft
72	Pickerel Lake	Itasca	A	10.2 ft	241 acres	70 ft
73	George Lake	St. Louis	A	14.3 ft	42 acres	18 ft
74	Rush Island Lake	Itasca	A	10.8 ft	297 acres	32 ft
75	Swan Lake	Itasca	A	13.5 ft	2,456 acres	65 ft
76	Pleasant Lake	St. Louis	A	10 ft	335 acres	33 ft
77	Little Trout Lake	St. Louis	A	20.3 ft	272 acres	95 ft
78	Perch Lake	St. Louis	A	13.5 ft	344 acres	30 ft
79	East Twin Lake	St. Louis	A	13.1 ft	224 acres	51 ft
80	Side Lake	St. Louis	A	11.5 ft	368 acres	32 ft
81	Trestle Lake	Itasca	A	14.8 ft	111 acres	35 ft
82	White Lake	St. Louis	A	11.5 ft	123 acres	29 ft
83	Sturgeon Lake	St. Louis	A	13.8 ft	1,585 acres	79.8 ft
84	Beatrice Lake	Itasca	A	10.5 ft	124 acres	29 ft
85	Bello Lake	Itasca	A	13.1 ft	527 acres	58 ft
86	Dodo Lake	St. Louis	A	12.8 ft	92 acres	53 ft
87	Gunn Lake	Itasca	A	14.3 ft	-	-
88	St. Marys Lake	St. Louis	A	13.1 ft	234 acres	44 ft
89	Busties Lake	Itasca	A	10.3 ft	245 acres	44 ft
90	South Sugar Lake	Itasca	A	14.4 ft	83 acres	36 ft
91	Little Whitefish Lake	Itasca	A	11.5 ft	160 acres	15 ft
92	Cadotte Lake	St. Louis	A	10.2 ft	294 acres	18 ft
93	Jack the Horse Lake	Itasca	A	11.6 ft	363 acres	45 ft
94	Fenske Lake	St. Louis	A	11.5 ft	108 acres	43 ft
95	Whitewater Lake	St. Louis	A	14 ft	1,212 acres	73 ft
96	Coon-Sandwick Lake	Itasca	A	10.7 ft	594 acres	36 ft
97	Bear Head Lake	St. Louis	A	11 ft	662 acres	46 ft
98	Sandwick Lake	Itasca	A	11.6 ft	594 acres	36 ft
99	Meander Lake	St. Louis	A	13 ft	99 acres	25 ft
100	Anne Lake	St. Louis	A	14.4 ft	8 acres	27 ft