Anoka County

The lakes of Anoka County

113 lakes · 12,384 acres · 30 with measured depth · 20 with a public access · 11 stocked

Anoka County has 113 lakes of 10 acres or more in Minnesota DNR hydrography, 78 of them named, covering 12,384 acres of water. The largest is Coon Lake at 1,481 acres; the deepest measured is East Twin Lake near Nowthen at 68 ft. Minnesota DNR has a measured maximum depth for 30 lakes here. The Census counts 24 square miles of water in the county, 5% of its area.

Lake outlines and acres: Minnesota DNR hydrography (lakes, ponds and reservoirs of 10 acres or more, each counted once: a lake mapped in bays as the whole lake, a border water by its Minnesota side). Depths: Minnesota DNR LakeFinder and lake survey contours, fetched 26 Oct 2026. County line and water area: U.S. Census TIGER. Lake data: Minnesota DNR (General Data and Software License). Not for navigation.

Largest lakes

26 lakes in Anoka County cover 100 acres or more. The 12 largest are listed here; the full register of 78 named lakes follows.

Acres: Minnesota DNR hydrography. Nearest town: U.S. Census 2024 Gazetteer. Deepest: Minnesota DNR LakeFinder (the survey's maximum depth, else the deepest survey contour). Clarity: average measured Secchi depth, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and volunteer readings via LakeFinder. Accesses: Minnesota DNR public water access sites. Stocking: Minnesota DNR stocking reports, by year. Fetched 26 Oct 2026.

Lakes that share a name

5 names belong to more than one lake in Anoka County, 11 lakes in all. The most repeated is Mud Lake, with 3. Each lake is listed with its nearest town, the way people search for them.

Names: USGS GNIS and Minnesota DNR hydrography. Acres: Minnesota DNR hydrography; depth: Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, fetched 26 Oct 2026. Nearest town: U.S. Census 2024 Gazetteer.

Deepest lakes

7 lakes in Anoka County are 25 ft deep or more by Minnesota DNR survey. East Twin Lake near Nowthen is the deepest at 68 ft, then Linwood Lake (42 ft), Lake George (32 ft) and Coon Lake (27 ft). The other 48 named lakes have no measured depth on record.

Minnesota DNR LakeFinder maximum depths and lake survey contours, fetched 26 Oct 2026.

Clearest water

Clarity is the depth at which a black-and-white Secchi disk disappears from view. 15 lakes in Anoka County have measured readings, 47 in all; the middle lake averages 7 ft. The clearest is Otter Lake at about 12 ft, then East Twin Lake near Nowthen (11 ft), Norris Lake (10 ft) and Crooked Lake (9 ft). The least clear is Centerville Lake at about 2 ft. Clarity is not a test for bacteria or algae toxins.

Average of measured Secchi readings, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and volunteers, via Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, fetched 26 Oct 2026.

Public water access

Minnesota DNR lists 21 public water access sites on 20 lakes in Anoka County; 17 take a boat trailer. The other 58 named lakes have no public access site in the DNR record, so their shores may be private.

Minnesota DNR public water access sites, fetched 26 Oct 2026. The record has no open or closed status.

Fishing

Minnesota DNR lake surveys have recorded fish in 20 lakes in Anoka County: walleye in 6, northern pike in 17 and largemouth bass in 16. Minnesota DNR stocking reports list 11 lakes stocked here between 2016 and 2025, 87 stockings in all. Walleye went into 9 lakes. In 2025, the latest year on record, 7 lakes were stocked.

Species recorded in Minnesota DNR lake surveys (game fish by DNR's own list) and Minnesota DNR stocking reports, which give the year, not the day; via LakeFinder, fetched 26 Oct 2026. How we measure

Invasive species

Minnesota DNR lists at least one invasive species for 14 lakes in Anoka County: Eurasian watermilfoil in 13 and flowering rush in 1. Moving water, plants or animals between lakes spreads them; DNR's rules apply at every access.

Minnesota DNR invasive species designations, as listed in LakeFinder, fetched 26 Oct 2026.

Lake pages in Anoka County

7 lakes here have a page of their own, with a depth map drawn from Minnesota DNR survey contours, the stocking record and the latest fish survey.

Chosen by search demand: Google Keyword Planner, October 2026. How we measure

Alerts

Common questions