Largest lakes & reservoirs in Minnesota by shoreline length
The length of the exterior shoreline around a lake is measured at the lake’s normal elevation. The shoreline length can be considerably shorter or longer when lake water levels are lower or higher than normal. A lake with many coves has a much longer shoreline than a lake of similar surface area that is nearly circular in shape.When known, the shoreline miles that we report in our statistics include only the lake’s exterior shoreline, and exclude the shorelines of islands located within a lake’s boundaries. In lakes with many islands, those islands’ combined shorelines may exceed a lake’s exterior shoreline.
You can find many of the world’s longest-shoreline lakes on LakeLubbers. Note: For some lakes, "Longest Shorelines" data is unknown or does not apply, 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 longest shoreline length in miles. This list does not represent all lakes in Minnesota, only the 116 Minnesota lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Shoreline length in miles |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Lake of the Woods, MN / Canada (Canada, Manitoba, Canada, Minnesota, Northwest Minnesota, Ontario, Canada, US Midwest Region, USA) |
25,000 mi | Spanning the border from Minnesota into the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, Lake of the Woods is an enormous body of water over 68 miles l… |
| Lake Superior (Canada, Great Lakes of North America, Lake Superior Northwoods Region, WI, Michigan, Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, Ontario, Canada, US Midwest Region, USA, Upper Peninsula Region, MI, Wisconsin) |
2,726 mi | Skipping over state and country borders, Lake Superior, the largest, deepest, coldest, cleanest, least developed, and most pristine of the Great Lakes… |
| Rainy Lake, MN / Canada (Canada, Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, Ontario, Canada, US Midwest Region, USA) |
929 mi | Rainy Lake’s sprawling 221,000 acres straddle the border of the United States and Canada. Known as a water sports lover’s paradise, Rainy Lake is loca… |
| Leech Lake, MN (Minnesota, Northwest Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
316 mi | With over 120,000 acres of water and 316 miles of shoreline, Leech Lake is the third largest lake located entirely in Minnesota, the “Land of 10,000 L… |
| Namakan Lake (Canada, Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, Ontario, Canada, US Midwest Region, USA) |
285 mi | Also known as Namakan Reservoir Namakan Lake’s delights await the lucky visitor. Covering more than 24,000 acres with many small islands, about half of the lake is located in Minneso… |
| Lake Vermilion, MN (Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
202 mi | Known as “Lake of the Sunset Glow” by its ancient Ojibwe inhabitants, northeastern Minnesota’s sunny Lake Vermilion is a positively ideal getaway. Thi… |
| Kabetogama Lake, MN (Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
188 mi | Also known as Lake Kabetogama Located just a few miles from the Canadian border in St. Louis County, Minnesota’s Kabetogama Lake is every bit as unique as its name implies. This fr… |
| Lake Winnibigoshish, MN (Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, Northwest Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
141 mi | Also known as Lake Winnie Lake Winnibigoshish is a legend among Minnesota lakes. The lake’s impressive size, covering more than 58,500 acres, reaches into both the Northwest an… |
| Whitefish Chain of Lakes (Central Minnesota, Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
119 mi | Also known as Pine River Reservoir Whitefish Chain of Lakes, also known as the Pine River Reservoir, is one of six Mississippi River Headwater Reservoirs in central Minnesota. Located i… |
| Lake Minnetonka, MN (Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro Region, MN, Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
110 mi | Lake Minnetonka’s 14,000 acres contain many bays and coves, resembling a collection of smaller lakes. “Minnetonka” comes from the Sioux language meani… |
| Cut Foot Sioux Lakes (Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
100 mi | Also known as Big Cut Foot Sioux Lake, Little Cut Foot Sioux Lake Few people have heard of the Northeast Minnesota destination of Cut Foot Sioux Lakes. Connected to neighboring Lake Winnibigoshish, the Cut Foot Sioux… |
| Lake Pepin, MN/WI (Minnesota, Mississippi-Chippewa Rivers Region, WI, Southern Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA, Wisconsin) |
85 mi | Lake Pepin is the largest lake on the Mississippi River, formed about 9,500 years ago by the backup of water behind sediments where the Chippewa River… |