When Does Blackwater Lake Freeze? Typical Ice-In Nov 28, Ice-Out Apr 17
Blackwater Lake in Cass County, Minnesota usually freezes over around Nov 28, and usually has ice-out around Apr 17, based on Minnesota DNR ice observations recorded between 2012-2019. That works out to roughly 225 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 Blackwater Lake
| Typical freeze-up (ice-in) | Nov 28 |
| Typical ice-out | Apr 17 |
| Earliest freeze-up on record | Nov 12, 2019 |
| Latest freeze-up on record | Dec 14, 2016 |
| Earliest ice-out on record | Mar 25, 2012 |
| Latest ice-out on record | May 13, 2013 |
| Open-water season | ~225 days |
| Winters observed | 40 |
| Location | Cass County, Minnesota |
These are dates, not an ice-safety reading
A typical freeze-up date tells you when Blackwater 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 Blackwater Lake has landed as early as Mar 25, 2012 and as late as May 13, 2013 — a spread of weeks around the Apr 17 median. Freeze-up has ranged from Nov 12, 2019 to Dec 14, 2016. 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 Blackwater Lake is on the lake report.
Source: Minnesota DNR Climate Office ice-in / ice-out records, observations from 2012-2019.
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