Lake	County	Acres	Max depth	Score
Burntside Lakenear Ely	St. Louis	7,314	126 ft	87 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Carlosnear Carlos	Douglas	2,605	163 ft	87 out of 100 Lake Score
Gunflint Lakenear Grand Marais	Cook	4,009	200 ft	86 out of 100 Lake Score
Cass Lakenear Cass Lake	Beltrami	15,958	120 ft	92 out of 100 Lake Score
Washburn Lakenear Outing	Cass	1,590	111 ft	83 out of 100 Lake Score
Leech Lakenear Walker	Cass	103,444	150 ft	92 out of 100 Lake Score
Mille Lacs Lakenear Garrison	Mille Lacs	128,250	42 ft	81 out of 100 Lake Score
Detroit Lakenear Detroit Lakes	Becker	3,067	89 ft	85 out of 100 Lake Score
Rainy Lakenear International Falls	St. Louis	210,200	161 ft	89 out of 100 Lake Score
Pokegama Lakenear Grand Rapids	Itasca	6,721	112 ft	86 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Minnewaskanear Long Beach	Pope	8,050	32 ft	74 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Sarahnear Erskine	Polk	366	27 ft	70 out of 100 Lake Score
Sea Gull Lakenear Grand Marais	Cook	3,958	145 ft	80 out of 100 Lake Score
Snowbank Lakenear Ely	Lake	4,655	150 ft	79 out of 100 Lake Score
East Bearskin Lakenear Grand Marais	Cook	593	66 ft	77 out of 100 Lake Score
Basswood Lakenear Ely	Lake	25,953	111 ft	76 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake St. Croixnear Stillwater	Washington	8,393	78 ft	83 out of 100 Lake Score
Flour Lakenear Grand Marais	Cook	330	75 ft	83 out of 100 Lake Score
Gilbert Pitnear Gilbert	St. Louis	243	443 ft	82 out of 100 Lake Score
Birch Lakenear Babbitt	St. Louis	7,074	25 ft	75 out of 100 Lake Score
Annie Battle Lakenear Battle Lake	Otter Tail	354	51 ft	75 out of 100 Lake Score
St. Louis River Estuarynear Duluth	St. Louis	10,255	55 ft	82 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Winnibigoshishnear Bena	Cass	56,471	70 ft	79 out of 100 Lake Score
Saganaga Lakenear Grand Marais	Cook	18,767	280 ft	79 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Pepinnear Lake City	Goodhue	12,299	60 ft	76 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Andrewnear New London	Kandiyohi	759	26 ft	72 out of 100 Lake Score
Moose Lakenear Ely	Lake	1,301	65 ft	71 out of 100 Lake Score
Sucker Lakenear Ely	Lake	393	31 ft	66 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
Echo Lakenear Moose Lake	Carlton	108	47 ft	73 out of 100 Lake Score
Cut Foot Sioux Lakenear Squaw Lake	Itasca	2,771	78 ft	72 out of 100 Lake Score
Brule Lakenear Grand Marais	Cook	4,327	78 ft	70 out of 100 Lake Score
Clearwater Lakenear Grand Marais	Cook	1,344	130 ft	70 out of 100 Lake Score
Newfound Lakenear Ely	Lake	643	45 ft	67 out of 100 Lake Score
Birch Lakenear Ely	Lake	836	34 ft	66 out of 100 Lake Score
Bronson Lakenear Lake Bronson	Kittson	312	29 ft	65 out of 100 Lake Score
Sawbill Lakenear Tofte	Cook	834	45 ft	64 out of 100 Lake Score
Long Lakenear Lake Itasca	Clearwater	159	80 ft	80 out of 100 Lake Score
Square Lakenear Stillwater	Washington	203	68 ft	78 out of 100 Lake Score
McFarland Lakenear Hovland	Cook	386	49 ft	76 out of 100 Lake Score
Trout Lakenear Tower	St. Louis	7,425	98 ft	73 out of 100 Lake Score
Knife Lakenear Ely	Lake	4,919	179 ft	70 out of 100 Lake Score
Pine Lakenear Hovland	Cook	2,122	113 ft	69 out of 100 Lake Score
Little Knife Lakenear Ely	Lake	700	184 ft	66 out of 100 Lake Score
Bald Eagle Lakenear Silver Rapids	Lake	1,243	36 ft	64 out of 100 Lake Score
Gull Lakenear Nisswa	Cass	10,010	80 ft	90 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Miltonanear Leaf Valley	Douglas	5,731	105 ft	83 out of 100 Lake Score
Pebble Lakenear Fergus Falls	Otter Tail	195	62 ft	78 out of 100 Lake Score
Big Stone Lakenear Ortonville	Big Stone	11,984	16 ft	77 out of 100 Lake Score
Upper Red Lakenear Waskish	Beltrami	119,294	15 ft	76 out of 100 Lake Score

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best camping lake in Minnesota?

Burntside Lake in St. Louis County ranks first for camping in this directory, followed by Lake Carlos and Gunflint Lake. 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 camping rank from Minnesota DNR records (size, depth, clarity, fish surveys, public access) and amenities mapped in OpenStreetMap. No visitor reviews are involved.

1.Burntside Lake

2.Lake Carlos

3.Gunflint Lake

4.Cass Lake

5.Washburn Lake

6.Leech Lake

7.Mille Lacs Lake

8.Detroit Lake

9.Rainy Lake

10.Pokegama Lake

11.Lake Minnewaska

12.Lake Sarah

The top 50

Best Camping Lakes by county

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best camping lake in Minnesota?

How are these lakes ranked?