Ranked by the official maximum depth in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder records; where none is published, the deepest mapped contour from MN DNR survey bathymetry stands in (contours can slightly understate depth, never overstate it).
Only lakes with published Minnesota DNR survey bathymetry on LakeList can rank (about 1,500 lakes). Deep border waters without a published DNR depth record — Saganaga Lake among them — are not listed rather than guessed at.
Lakes under 50 acres — or without a confidently matched USGS NHD polygon for acreage — are excluded from rankings.
Public access inventories are not yet tracked for Minnesota here, so access is never shown or ranked.
FAQ
Traverse County lake records
What is the deepest lake in Traverse County?
Lake Traverse — Lake Traverse in Traverse County has the deepest documented maximum depth of any ranked Traverse County lake, at 12 feet in Minnesota DNR records.
Source data: Minnesota DNR LakeFinder records and MN DNR survey bathymetry, with acreage from USGS National Hydrography Dataset polygons, as aggregated by LakeList.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.