Minnesota Reservoirs & Flowages

40 reservoirs, flowages and river pools in Minnesota.

Most Minnesota lakes are natural glacial basins, but dams created or enlarged some of the best-known waters: the Mississippi Headwaters reservoirs, the St. Louis River reservoirs north of Duluth, and the lock-and-dam pools of the Mississippi below the Twin Cities. Water levels on these lakes are managed and can change through the season.

1.Leech Lake

Cass · Walker103,444 acres

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2.Gull Lake

Cass · Nisswa10,010 acres

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3.Pokegama Lake

Itasca · Grand Rapids6,721 acres

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4.Lake Winnibigoshish

Cass · Bena56,471 acres

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5.Cross Lake Reservoir

Crow Wing · Cross Lake1,815 acres

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6.Lake Byllesby

Dakota · Cannon Falls1,368 acres

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7.Whiteface Reservoir

St. Louis · Markham4,567 acres

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8.Big Sandy Lake

Aitkin · McGregor6,125 acres

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9.Fish Lake Flowage

St. Louis · Duluth3,259 acres

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10.Gull Lake

Cook · Grand Marais168 acres

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11.Split Rock Reservoir

Pipestone · Pipestone96 acres

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12.Bear Creek Reservoir

Olmsted · Chester104 acres

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All 40 lakes

Sorted by rank. Tap a lake for access, fish species and directions.

Lake	County	Type	Acres	Max depth	Score
Leech Lakenear Walker	Cass	reservoir	103,444	150 ft	92 out of 100 Lake Score
Gull Lakenear Nisswa	Cass	reservoir	10,010	80 ft	90 out of 100 Lake Score
Pokegama Lakenear Grand Rapids	Itasca	reservoir	6,721	112 ft	86 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Winnibigoshishnear Bena	Cass	reservoir	56,471	70 ft	79 out of 100 Lake Score
Cross Lake Reservoirnear Cross Lake	Crow Wing	reservoir	1,815	84 ft	76 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Byllesbynear Cannon Falls	Dakota	reservoir	1,368	50 ft	75 out of 100 Lake Score
Whiteface Reservoirnear Markham	St. Louis	reservoir	4,567	35 ft	74 out of 100 Lake Score
Big Sandy Lakenear McGregor	Aitkin	reservoir	6,125	84 ft	69 out of 100 Lake Score
Fish Lake Flowagenear Duluth	St. Louis	reservoir	3,259	36 ft	64 out of 100 Lake Score
Gull Lakenear Grand Marais	Cook	reservoir	168	40 ft	64 out of 100 Lake Score
Split Rock Reservoirnear Pipestone	Pipestone	reservoir	96	16 ft	64 out of 100 Lake Score
Bear Creek Reservoirnear Chester	Olmsted	reservoir	104	37 ft	61 out of 100 Lake Score
Gull Lakenear Tenstrike	Beltrami	reservoir	2,256	23 ft	60 out of 100 Lake Score
Wellner-Hageman Reservoirnear Dotson	Brown	reservoir	75	24 ft	60 out of 100 Lake Score
Lac qui Parlenear Milan	Lac qui Parle	reservoir	5,741	15 ft	59 out of 100 Lake Score
Island Lake Reservoirnear Duluth	St. Louis	reservoir	8,001	94 ft	58 out of 100 Lake Score
Pokegama Lakenear Pine City	Pine	reservoir	1,521	25 ft	58 out of 100 Lake Score
Lake Zumbronear Oronoco	Olmsted	reservoir	715	43 ft	58 out of 100 Lake Score
Dayton Hollow Reservoirnear Fergus Falls	Otter Tail	reservoir	227	32 ft	53 out of 100 Lake Score
West Two Rivers Reservoirnear Mountain Iron	St. Louis	reservoir	967	27 ft	51 out of 100 Lake Score
North Sunrise Poolnear Stacy	Chisago	river pool	410	6 ft	50 out of 100 Lake Score
Pike River Flowagenear Tower	St. Louis	reservoir	214	23 ft	50 out of 100 Lake Score
South Sunrise Poolnear Stacy	Chisago	river pool	299	7 ft	49 out of 100 Lake Score
Hay Creek Flowagenear Markville	Pine	reservoir	102	10 ft	48 out of 100 Lake Score
St. Anthony Falls Poolnear Minneapolis	Hennepin	river pool	317	9 ft	47 out of 100 Lake Score
Flowagenear Duluth	St. Louis	reservoir	112	15 ft	45 out of 100 Lake Score
U.S. Lock & Dam #5 Poolnear Weaver	Wabasha	river pool	6,326	—	44 out of 100 Lake Score
U.S. Lock & Dam #5A Poolnear Minnesota City	Winona	river pool	2,167	—	44 out of 100 Lake Score
U.S. Lock & Dam #6 Poolnear Sugarloaf	Winona	river pool	1,719	—	43 out of 100 Lake Score
Thomson Reservoirnear Thomson	Carlton	reservoir	390	22 ft	43 out of 100 Lake Score
U.S. Lock & Dam #3 Poolnear Etter	Goodhue	river pool	1,549	11 ft	42 out of 100 Lake Score
U.S. Lock & Dam #9 Poolnear Cee Jefferson	Houston	river pool	934	—	42 out of 100 Lake Score
U.S. Lock & Dam #1 Poolnear Falcon Heights	Hennepin	river pool	471	9 ft	42 out of 100 Lake Score
U.S. Lock & Dam #2 Poolnear Saint Paul Park	Dakota	river pool	5,937	—	40 out of 100 Lake Score
Swamp River Reservoirnear Hovland	Cook	reservoir	165	10 ft	40 out of 100 Lake Score
Mustinka River Flowagenear Norcross	Grant	reservoir	91	10 ft	40 out of 100 Lake Score
Gull Lakenear Winton	St. Louis	reservoir	171	13 ft	31 out of 100 Lake Score
Big Stone NWR East Poolnear Odessa	Lac qui Parle	river pool	1,286	—	25 out of 100 Lake Score
Gull Lakenear Tenstrike	Beltrami	reservoir	138	20 ft	25 out of 100 Lake Score
Silver Creek Reservoirnear Chester	Olmsted	reservoir	107	—	22 out of 100 Lake Score