Lake	County	Acres	Max depth	Score
Boot Lakenear Two Inlets	Becker	385	109 ft	77 out of 100 Lake Score
Pelican Lakenear Breezy Point	Crow Wing	8,367	104 ft	82 out of 100 Lake Score
Gull Lakenear Nisswa	Cass	10,010	80 ft	90 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Carlosnear Carlos	Douglas	2,605	163 ft	87 out of 100 Lake Score
St. Mary's Lakenear Spruce	St. Louis	234	44 ft	75 out of 100 Lake Score
Pokegama Lakenear Grand Rapids	Itasca	6,721	112 ft	86 out of 100 Lake Score
Flour Lakenear Grand Marais	Cook	330	75 ft	83 out of 100 Lake Score
Tioga Mine Pitnear Cohasset	Itasca	49	225 ft	64 out of 100 Lake Score
Gilbert Pitnear Gilbert	St. Louis	243	443 ft	82 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
Hungry Jack Lakenear Grand Marais	Cook	474	71 ft	71 out of 100 Lake Score
Burntside Lakenear Ely	St. Louis	7,314	126 ft	87 out of 100 Lake Score
Gunflint Lakenear Grand Marais	Cook	4,009	200 ft	86 out of 100 Lake Score
West Battle Lakenear Battle Lake	Otter Tail	5,615	108 ft	81 out of 100 Lake Score
Six Lakenear Frazee	Otter Tail	197	140 ft	75 out of 100 Lake Score
Pickerel Lakenear Lake Itasca	Clearwater	143	60 ft	70 out of 100 Lake Score
Cass Lakenear Cass Lake	Beltrami	15,958	120 ft	92 out of 100 Lake Score
White Bear Lakenear White Bear Lake	Washington	2,428	83 ft	80 out of 100 Lake Score
Pebble Lakenear Fergus Falls	Otter Tail	195	62 ft	78 out of 100 Lake Score
Little Sand Lakenear Dorset	Hubbard	410	80 ft	75 out of 100 Lake Score
Ely Lakenear Eveleth	St. Louis	723	70 ft	75 out of 100 Lake Score
Nisswa Lakenear Nisswa	Crow Wing	219	23 ft	69 out of 100 Lake Score
Frost Lakenear Tofte	Cook	284	88 ft	53 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Elmonear Lake Elmo	Washington	257	140 ft	78 out of 100 Lake Score
Rush Lakenear Cross Lake	Crow Wing	858	105 ft	74 out of 100 Lake Score
McFarland Lakenear Hovland	Cook	386	49 ft	76 out of 100 Lake Score
McCarron Lakenear Roseville	Ramsey	73	57 ft	68 out of 100 Lake Score
Washburn Lakenear Outing	Cass	1,590	111 ft	83 out of 100 Lake Score
Annie Battle Lakenear Battle Lake	Otter Tail	354	51 ft	75 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Edwardnear Merrifield	Crow Wing	2,628	75 ft	76 out of 100 Lake Score
Long Lakenear Vergas	Otter Tail	1,289	128 ft	76 out of 100 Lake Score
Round Lakenear Nisswa	Crow Wing	1,650	51 ft	74 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Pulaskinear Buffalo	Wright	813	87 ft	72 out of 100 Lake Score
Detroit Lakenear Detroit Lakes	Becker	3,067	89 ft	85 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Shamineaunear Motley	Morrison	1,434	52 ft	73 out of 100 Lake Score
Bde Maka Ska Lakenear Minneapolis	Hennepin	424	82 ft	73 out of 100 Lake Score
Echo Lakenear Moose Lake	Carlton	108	47 ft	73 out of 100 Lake Score
Middle Cullen Lakenear Nisswa	Crow Wing	405	48 ft	70 out of 100 Lake Score
Clear Lakenear Gemmell	Koochiching	89	30 ft	67 out of 100 Lake Score
Rainy Lakenear International Falls	St. Louis	210,200	161 ft	89 out of 100 Lake Score
Birch Lakenear Hackensack	Cass	1,267	45 ft	73 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Darlingnear Alexandria	Douglas	1,050	62 ft	73 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Crystalnear Lakeville	Dakota	293	37 ft	70 out of 100 Lake Score
Leech Lakenear Walker	Cass	103,444	150 ft	92 out of 100 Lake Score
Little Boy Lakenear Longville	Cass	1,452	74 ft	74 out of 100 Lake Score
O'Brien Lakenear Nashwauk	Itasca	539	63 ft	70 out of 100 Lake Score
Big Lakenear Big Lake	Sherburne	254	48 ft	70 out of 100 Lake Score
Grant Lakenear Wilton (Beltrami)	Beltrami	214	92 ft	70 out of 100 Lake Score
Zumbra-Sunny Lakenear Victoria	Carver	271	58 ft	67 out of 100 Lake Score

Best Swimming Lakes by county

Counties with at least three qualifying lakes.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best swimming lake in Minnesota?

Boot Lake in Becker County ranks first for swimming in this directory, followed by Pelican Lake and Gull 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 swimming rank from Minnesota DNR records (size, depth, clarity, fish surveys, public access) and amenities mapped in OpenStreetMap. No visitor reviews are involved.