Highest elevation lakes & reservoirs in Minnesota by altitude
While lake levels can flucuate frequently based on several circumstances, the altitude/elevation of a lake is based on its normal water level, measured by the lake’s surface distance above sea level. For a reservoir, this water level is also known as “full pond” or “full pool”.Low lake levels can occur due to deliberate seasonal draw downs for irrigation or impending snow melt, reduced water inflows, drought and evaporation, residential or commercial water demands, and hydropower generation. Some lakes’ minimum and maximum elevations are virtually the same. Lakes that generate hydropower may vary by several feet – according to power demand. Lakes whose primary purpose is to prevent flooding can seasonally vary by 100 feet or more. When some lakes reach their minimum elevation, their boat ramps may not be long enough to permit boat access – and boats docked on shallow parts of the lake may end up on dry ground. In those cases, kayakers and shore-based anglers may be among the few happy recreational users of the lake.
A lake’s highest water level, measured by the lake’s surface distance above sea level, that can occur during flooding. A lake’s highest possible maximum elevation is usually the top of the lake’s dam or spillway. At lakes that include residential development, government regulations usually forbid the construction of homes below a lake’s maximum elevation.
You can find many of the world’s highest-elevated lakes on LakeLubbers. Lakes with the lowest elevations (known by LakeLubbers) are shown on the final page of that list. Note: For some lakes, "Altitude/Elevation" data is unknown, so this table may display fewer lakes than the total 116 articles we have published for Minnesota lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US Midwest Region > Minnesota > Compared by highest altitude/elevation in feet. This list does not represent all lakes in Minnesota, only the 116 Minnesota lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Elevation in feet |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Pickerel Lake, MN (Minnesota, Northwest Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
1,458 ft | Minnesota’s northwest region is draped in majestic forests and dotted with some of the state’s most pristine lakes including Pickerel Lake. Surrounded… |
| Saganaga Lake, MN / Canada (Canada, Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, Ontario, Canada, US Midwest Region, USA) |
1,435 ft | The 13,832 acres of Saganaga Lake straddle the border of Northeastern Minnesota and Ontario, Canada. Part of the well known Boundary Waters Canoe Area… |
| Birch Lake, MN (Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
1,422 ft | Located in St. Louis County Minnesota and the Superior National Forest, Birch Lake is an escape from the hustle and bustle of the concrete civilizatio… |
| White Iron Lake (Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
1,393 ft | White Iron Lake is part of a chain of lakes in St. Louis County, Minnesota that also includes Garden Lake, Farm Lake, and South Farm Lake. Part of the… |
| Burntside Lake, MN (Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
1,375 ft | Burntside Lake is an impressive nine-mile long lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota. With a surface area of 7,314 acres and no motor restrictions, Burn… |
| Lake Vermilion, MN (Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
1,360 ft | Known as “Lake of the Sunset Glow” by its ancient Ojibwe inhabitants, northeastern Minnesota’s sunny Lake Vermilion is a positively ideal getaway. Thi… |
| Smith Lake (Central Minnesota, Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
1,351 ft | Nestled quietly between Lake Osakis and the City of Alexandria, Smith Lake in Minnesota’s Central Region faces little tourist pressure. Not well known… |
| Battle Lake (Central Minnesota, Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
1,335 ft | Also known as East Battle Lake, West Battle Lake Connected by Battle Creek, West Battle Lake and East Battle Lake sprawl across over 7,500 acres of central Minnesota in Ottertail County. With more th… |
| Siseebakwet Lake (Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
1,330 ft | Also known as Sugar Sitting atop a brightly-colored towel and looking across Siseebakwet Lake’s crystalline, vividly blue waters might bring up images of the Caribbean or… |
| Lake Osakis, MN (Central Minnesota, Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
1,326 ft | Also known as Osakis Lake Lake Osakis, stretched across the prairie in the Central Region of Minnesota, has been a vacation destination for several generations of ‘lake lubbers… |
| Woman Lake Chain (Minnesota, Northwest Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
1,325 ft | Also known as Child Lake, Girl Lake, Little Woman Lake, Woman Lake, Squaw Lake The Woman Lake Chain in northwest Minnesota includes four lakes and covers 5,502 acres. Sprawling across Cass County slightly south of the Chippewa Na… |
| Bowstring Lake (Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
1,322 ft | Be it fishing, wakeboarding, canoeing or just simply wildlife watching, Bowstring Lake fulfills its visitors every vacation need. Set in Itasca County… |