Why MN's North Lake Is Among The Clearest Lakes In America

Seeing as Minnesota is known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes, it only makes sense that a new report has just ranked one of those lakes as one of the clearest in the entire country.

How Many Lakes Are Actually in Minnesota?

As we know, when it comes to lakes, it's tough to beat us here in Minnesota, right? And while our famous state slogan proudly proclaims that there are 10,000 lakes in this land, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) points out that there are actually 11,842 lakes here in the North Star State. (Either way, it's still more bodies of water than Wisconsin claims to have.)

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The Bold North defines a lake as a body of water that is 10 acres or bigger. (Wisconsin doesn't even have a minimum definition, which is why they often claim to have more lakes than we do.) The DNR says that Minnesota's 10 largest lakes have a combined surface area of more than 825,000 acres, account for about 40 percent of the annual statewide walleye harvest, and make a significant contribution to the $2.4 billion spent each year on fishing in Minnesota.

And now, one of those 11,842 lakes has just been singled out as having some of the clearest water in the entire country. North Lake, Minnesota, is one of the clearest boating lakes in the U.S., according to BoatBooker’s analysis of EPA water quality data. North Lake ranks #2 nationwide, placing it in Tier 1A Pristine, the rarest water clarity classification in the study.

Minnesota's North Lake Now Has Some of the Clearest Water in the U.S.

While there are several North Lakes scattered throughout Minnesota, the North Lake referenced in this survey is located in the far northeast part of the state near the Canadian border. It's part of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness region near the Gunflint Trail area, northeast of Grand Marais.

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Minnesota's North Lake Is Much Clearer Than Standard Drinking Water

The BoatBooker survey reports that North Lake has a median turbidity of just 0.15 NTU, which is pretty good considering that U.S. drinking water standards require a reading of below 1 NTU. Which means North Lake’s water is roughly seven times clearer than your standard drinking water, delivering exceptional, near glass-like visibility in calm conditions.

Overall, Minnesota placed 15 lakes on the final BoatBooker list, spanning all three clarity tiers, and delivered one of the strongest performances in the entire study, with clear public boating lakes spread across many of Minnesota's northern counties.