When Does Bear Lake Freeze? Typical Ice-In Nov 20, Ice-Out Apr 12
Bear Lake in Stearns County, Minnesota usually freezes over around Nov 20, and usually has ice-out around Apr 12, based on Minnesota DNR ice observations recorded between 2017-2022. That works out to roughly 222 days of open water a year. These are typical dates across many winters, not a forecast — individual years swing by weeks in either direction.
Ice record for Bear Lake
| Typical freeze-up (ice-in) | Nov 20 |
| Typical ice-out | Apr 12 |
| Earliest freeze-up on record | Oct 30, 2022 |
| Latest freeze-up on record | Dec 12, 2017 |
| Earliest ice-out on record | Apr 8, 2020 |
| Latest ice-out on record | Apr 22, 2022 |
| Open-water season | ~222 days |
| Winters observed | 8 |
| Location | Stearns County, Minnesota |
These are dates, not an ice-safety reading
A typical freeze-up date tells you when Bear Lake has usually iced over — it does not tell you the ice is safe, and we hold no thickness measurement for this or any lake. The Minnesota DNR is explicit that no ice is ever completely safe: thickness varies across a single lake, and current, springs, aerators, and insulating snow all weaken it. Ice that held a truck last week may not hold a person today.
Read the ice-thickness guidelines before going out, and check current conditions with the Minnesota DNR ice-safety page and local bait shops, which track conditions lake by lake.
How much the timing varies
Ice-out on Bear Lake has landed as early as Apr 8, 2020 and as late as Apr 22, 2022 — a spread of weeks around the Apr 12 median. Freeze-up has ranged from Oct 30, 2022 to Dec 12, 2017. That year-to-year swing is why a median date is a planning tool, not a schedule. Freeze-up is driven by accumulated cold after the lake turns over in fall; ice-out by late-winter air temperature, sun angle, and how much snow sits on top of the ice reflecting it. The full nutrient and algae breakdown for Bear Lake is on the lake report.
Source: Minnesota DNR Climate Office ice-in / ice-out records, observations from 2017-2022.
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