Welcome to the North Dakota Lakes Database — an independent guide to the lakes of the Peace Garden State. North Dakota’s water tells two stories. Along the Missouri River, two of the largest reservoirs in the country — Lake Sakakawea and Lake Oahe — stretch for hundreds of miles behind their dams. Out on the prairie, thousands of natural pothole lakes, left by the glaciers and fed by snowmelt, make this one of the great waterfowl and walleye landscapes of North America. We’re writing a detailed visitor guide to every lake worth fishing or floating in the state.
Whether you’re chasing a trophy walleye on a 180-mile reservoir, jigging perch through the ice, or working a quiet prairie lake at first light, start here.
How to use this guide
North Dakota’s lakes sort into two groups. The Largest Lakes of North Dakota are the great Missouri River reservoirs and Devils Lake — big, open, wind-driven water. The Small Lakes of North Dakota covers the prairie lakes, the smaller reservoirs, and the managed fishing waters scattered from the Badlands to the Red River Valley. Within each, lakes are grouped by region so you can find water near your route.
Largest Lakes of North Dakota
Lake Sakakawea, formed by Garrison Dam on the Missouri, is the third-largest man-made reservoir in the United States by volume and one of the premier walleye fisheries anywhere. Downstream, Lake Oahe runs south into South Dakota behind its own enormous dam. Devils Lake, the state’s largest natural lake, has flooded outward for three decades into a sprawling, fish-rich basin famous for perch and walleye. Add the Missouri reservoirs of Audubon and Darling and you have some of the biggest open water in the northern plains. Browse them all on the Largest Lakes of North Dakota page.
Small Lakes of North Dakota
Across the rest of the state, the prairie pothole lakes and smaller reservoirs do the quiet work — Tschida, Jamestown, Ashtabula and dozens of Game & Fish managed lakes that produce outstanding fishing with almost no crowds. Many double as waterfowl havens on the central flyway. See them all on the Small Lakes of North Dakota page.
The North Dakota Lakes Database is growing. Every guide is researched and written for people first — real fishing intel, honest access notes, and the stories behind each lake. Browse by Largest Lakes or Small Lakes, pick a region, and go find some water.