Lake	County	Acres	Max depth	Score
Leech Lakenear Walker	Cass	103,444	150 ft	92 out of 100 Lake Score
Rainy Lakenear International Falls	St. Louis	210,200	161 ft	89 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake of the Woodsnear Long Point	Lake of the Woods	725,583	210 ft	84 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Winnibigoshishnear Bena	Cass	56,471	70 ft	79 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Vermilionnear Tower	St. Louis	39,272	76 ft	80 out of 100 Lake Score
Mille Lacs Lakenear Garrison	Mille Lacs	128,250	42 ft	81 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Minnetonkanear Mound	Hennepin	14,206	113 ft	85 out of 100 Lake Score
Cass Lakenear Cass Lake	Beltrami	15,958	120 ft	92 out of 100 Lake Score
Gull Lakenear Nisswa	Cass	10,010	80 ft	90 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Pepinnear Lake City	Goodhue	12,299	60 ft	76 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake St. Croixnear Stillwater	Washington	8,393	78 ft	83 out of 100 Lake Score
St. Louis River Estuarynear Duluth	St. Louis	10,255	55 ft	82 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Kabetogamanear Ray	St. Louis	24,034	80 ft	74 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Bemidjinear Lavinia (Beltrami)	Beltrami	6,596	76 ft	82 out of 100 Lake Score
Upper Red Lakenear Waskish	Beltrami	119,294	15 ft	76 out of 100 Lake Score
Saganaga Lakenear Grand Marais	Cook	18,767	280 ft	79 out of 100 Lake Score
Birch Lakenear Babbitt	St. Louis	7,074	25 ft	75 out of 100 Lake Score
Otter Tail Lakenear Ottertail	Otter Tail	14,079	120 ft	74 out of 100 Lake Score
Pelican Lakenear Breezy Point	Crow Wing	8,367	104 ft	82 out of 100 Lake Score
Burntside Lakenear Ely	St. Louis	7,314	126 ft	87 out of 100 Lake Score
Whitefish Lakenear Cross Lake	Crow Wing	7,714	138 ft	70 out of 100 Lake Score
Pokegama Lakenear Grand Rapids	Itasca	6,721	112 ft	86 out of 100 Lake Score
North Long Lakenear Merrifield	Crow Wing	6,190	97 ft	75 out of 100 Lake Score
Pelican Lakenear Orr	St. Louis	11,546	38 ft	62 out of 100 Lake Score
Green Lakenear Spicer	Kandiyohi	5,569	110 ft	75 out of 100 Lake Score
Big Sandy Lakenear McGregor	Aitkin	6,125	84 ft	69 out of 100 Lake Score
Big Stone Lakenear Ortonville	Big Stone	11,984	16 ft	77 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Osakisnear Osakis	Todd	6,389	73 ft	77 out of 100 Lake Score
Bowstring Lakenear Deer River	Itasca	9,528	32 ft	55 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Traversenear Browns Valley	Traverse	10,849	12 ft	75 out of 100 Lake Score
Detroit Lakenear Detroit Lakes	Becker	3,067	89 ft	85 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Miltonanear Leaf Valley	Douglas	5,731	105 ft	83 out of 100 Lake Score
Dead Lakenear Dent	Otter Tail	7,546	65 ft	62 out of 100 Lake Score
White Bear Lakenear White Bear Lake	Washington	2,428	83 ft	80 out of 100 Lake Score
Ten Mile Lakenear Hackensack	Cass	5,080	208 ft	73 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Koronisnear Paynesville	Stearns	2,968	132 ft	74 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Idanear Leaf Valley	Douglas	4,445	106 ft	70 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Carlosnear Carlos	Douglas	2,605	163 ft	87 out of 100 Lake Score
West Battle Lakenear Battle Lake	Otter Tail	5,615	108 ft	81 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Minnewaskanear Long Beach	Pope	8,050	32 ft	74 out of 100 Lake Score
Ball Club Lakenear Ball Club	Itasca	4,335	85 ft	69 out of 100 Lake Score
Big Pine Lakenear Perham	Otter Tail	4,728	76 ft	59 out of 100 Lake Score
U.S. Lock & Dam #2 Poolnear Saint Paul Park	Dakota	5,937	—	40 out of 100 Lake Score
Woman Lakenear Longville	Cass	5,520	54 ft	72 out of 100 Lake Score
Cut Foot Sioux Lakenear Squaw Lake	Itasca	2,771	78 ft	72 out of 100 Lake Score
Lac qui Parlenear Milan	Lac qui Parle	5,741	15 ft	59 out of 100 Lake Score
Snowbank Lakenear Ely	Lake	4,655	150 ft	79 out of 100 Lake Score
Star Lakenear Dent	Otter Tail	4,486	94 ft	68 out of 100 Lake Score
Long Lakenear Park Rapids	Hubbard	1,926	135 ft	68 out of 100 Lake Score
Pike Baynear Cass Lake	Cass	4,756	95 ft	78 out of 100 Lake Score

Best Boating Lakes by county

Counties with at least three qualifying lakes.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best boating lake in Minnesota?

Leech Lake in Cass County ranks first for boating in this directory, followed by Rainy Lake and Lake of the Woods. The ranking is computed from public data, so treat it as a starting point rather than a verdict.

How are these lakes ranked?

Each lake gets a boating rank from Minnesota DNR records (size, depth, clarity, fish surveys, public access) and amenities mapped in OpenStreetMap. No visitor reviews are involved.