When Does Buffalo Lake Freeze? Typical Ice-In Nov 30, Ice-Out Apr 4
Buffalo Lake in Wright County, Minnesota usually freezes over around Nov 30, and usually has ice-out around Apr 4, based on Minnesota DNR ice observations recorded between 1986-2018. That works out to roughly 240 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 Buffalo Lake
| Typical freeze-up (ice-in) | Nov 30 |
| Typical ice-out | Apr 4 |
| Earliest freeze-up on record | Nov 13, 1986 |
| Latest freeze-up on record | Dec 19, 2018 |
| Earliest ice-out on record | Mar 7, 2017 |
| Latest ice-out on record | May 2, 2018 |
| Open-water season | ~240 days |
| Winters observed | 28 |
| Location | Wright County, Minnesota |
These are dates, not an ice-safety reading
A typical freeze-up date tells you when Buffalo 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 Buffalo Lake has landed as early as Mar 7, 2017 and as late as May 2, 2018 — a spread of weeks around the Apr 4 median. Freeze-up has ranged from Nov 13, 1986 to Dec 19, 2018. 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. Buffalo Lake carries an overall water-quality grade of D — the full breakdown is on the lake report.
Source: Minnesota DNR Climate Office ice-in / ice-out records, observations from 1986-2018.