MN · ranked by public data

The 25 Biggest Lakes in Minnesota

The biggest lakes in Minnesota, ranked by surface area computed from USGS National Hydrography Dataset lake polygons — one consistent federal source for every lake. Lake Superior and oversized border waters are excluded; this list is inland water only.

632 Minnesota lakes cover at least 500 NHD-mapped acres.

632lakes cover at least 500 NHD-mapped acres

Lower Red Lake#1 at 164,697 acres

St. Louis Countymost qualifying lakes (57)

Methodology

How we rank Minnesota's biggest lakes

Ranked by surface area computed from USGS National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) lake polygons — consistent federal geometry, not state-documented acreage; figures can differ modestly from traditionally cited ones.
The Great Lakes and border waters over 300,000 acres are excluded — this list ranks inland lakes.
Lakes whose mapped polygon could not be confidently matched are excluded rather than guessed.
Lakes under 50 acres are excluded from rankings.
Public access inventories are not yet tracked for Minnesota here, so access is never shown or ranked.

Every number on this page comes from the same public agency records that power each lake's profile, and the list is recomputed as that data updates — it cannot silently go stale the way a hand-written top-10 does.

The ranking

Minnesota's biggest lakes, ranked

1164,697 ac
164,697 acres
Beltrami County, MN
Lower Red Lake
limited
47.96, -95.02164,697 acres0 public access pointsSpecies pending
164,697 acres
2128,167 ac
128,167 acres
Mille Lacs County, MN
Mille Lacs Lake
limitedDepth map
46.24, -93.65128,167 acres | 42 ft max0 public access pointsSpecies pending
128,167 acres · 42 ft max depth
3119,323 ac
119,323 acres
Beltrami County, MN
Upper Red Lake
limited
48.13, -94.77119,323 acres0 public access pointsSpecies pending
119,323 acres
4103,350 ac
103,350 acres
Cass County, MN
Leech Lake
limitedDepth map
47.16, -94.41103,350 acres | 135 ft max0 public access pointsSpecies pending
103,350 acres · 135 ft max depth
555,762 ac
55,762 acres
Cass County, MN
Lake Winnibigoshish
limitedDepth map
47.44, -94.2055,762 acres | 70 ft max0 public access pointsSpecies pending
55,762 acres · 70 ft max depth
645,770 ac
45,770 acres
Koochiching County, MN
Rainy Lake
limitedDepth map
48.56, -93.1745,770 acres | 161 ft max0 public access pointsSpecies pending
45,770 acres · 161 ft max depth
738,886 ac
38,886 acres
St. Louis County, MN
Vermilion Lake
limited
47.86, -92.4238,886 acres0 public access pointsSpecies pending
38,886 acres
822,331 ac
22,331 acres
St. Louis County, MN
Kabetogama Lake
limitedDepth map
48.47, -93.0422,331 acres | 80 ft max0 public access pointsSpecies pending
22,331 acres · 80 ft max depth
920,696 ac
20,696 acres
Cass County, MN
Cass Lake
limitedDepth map
47.41, -94.5520,696 acres | 120 ft max0 public access pointsSpecies pending
20,696 acres · 120 ft max depth
1014,200 ac
14,200 acres
Lake County, MN
Basswood Lake
limited
48.07, -91.5814,200 acres0 public access pointsSpecies pending
14,200 acres

Rank	Lake	County	Acres	Max depth
11	Lac la Croix	St. Louis	14,169 ac	—
12	Lake Minnetonka	Hennepin	13,771 ac	113 ft
13	Namakan Lake	St. Louis	12,159 ac	150 ft
14	Big Stone Lake	Big Stone	11,889 ac	16 ft
15	Pelican Lake	St. Louis	11,466 ac	38 ft
16	Lake Traverse	Traverse	10,747 ac	12 ft
17	Swan Lake	Nicollet	10,095 ac	3 ft
18	Gull Lake	Cass	9,903 ac	80 ft
19	Bowstring Lake	Itasca	9,196 ac	32 ft
20	Pelican Lake	Crow Wing	8,422 ac	104 ft
21	Lake Minnewaska	Pope	7,995 ac	32 ft
22	Lake Saint Croix	Washington	7,694 ac	—
23	Birch Lake	St. Louis	7,554 ac	25 ft
24	Dead Lake	Otter Tail	7,463 ac	65 ft
25	Trout Lake	St. Louis	7,375 ac	98 ft

By county

Biggest lakes by county

St. Louis County (57)

Vermilion Lake · 38,886 ac

Otter Tail County (51)

Dead Lake · 7,463 ac

Cass County (45)

Leech Lake · 103,350 ac

Itasca County (42)

Bowstring Lake · 9,196 ac

Cook County (37)

Saganaga Lake · 7,064 ac

Lake County (37)

Basswood Lake · 14,200 ac

Becker County (34)

Height of Land Lake · 3,796 ac

Crow Wing County (32)

Pelican Lake · 8,422 ac

Beltrami County (26)

Lower Red Lake · 164,697 ac

Aitkin County (20)

Big Sandy Lake · 6,335 ac

Kandiyohi County (20)

Big Kandiyohi Lake · 2,591 ac

Douglas County (19)

Lake Miltona · 5,690 ac

FAQ

Minnesota lake records FAQ

What is the biggest lake in Minnesota?

Lower Red Lake — Lower Red Lake in Beltrami County is the biggest inland lake in Minnesota by USGS NHD surface area, at 164,697 acres.

How many Minnesota lakes cover at least 500 NHD-mapped acres?

632 Minnesota lakes currently cover at least 500 NHD-mapped acresin LakeList's aggregation of public DNR records.

Where do these numbers come from?

Every figure is drawn from public agency data — USGS National Hydrography Dataset lake polygons (computed surface area) — as aggregated by LakeList. Each lake links to a full profile showing the underlying records.

Deepest lakes Best lakes by species All Minnesota lakes

Source data: USGS National Hydrography Dataset lake polygons as aggregated by LakeList. NHD-computed area can differ modestly from traditionally cited acreages.Lake outlines are shoreline shapes from LakeList and the USGS National Hydrography Dataset; they illustrate a lake's form and are not depth or navigation charts.