When Does Circle Lake Freeze? Typical Ice-In Dec 1, Ice-Out Mar 29
Circle Lake in Rice County, Minnesota usually freezes over around Dec 1, and usually has ice-out around Mar 29, based on Minnesota DNR ice observations recorded between 2001-2024. That works out to roughly 247 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 Circle Lake
| Typical freeze-up (ice-in) | Dec 1 |
| Typical ice-out | Mar 29 |
| Earliest freeze-up on record | Nov 19, 2022 |
| Latest freeze-up on record | Dec 18, 2001 |
| Earliest ice-out on record | Mar 3, 2024 |
| Latest ice-out on record | Apr 28, 2013 |
| Open-water season | ~247 days |
| Winters observed | 21 |
| Location | Rice County, Minnesota |
These are dates, not an ice-safety reading
A typical freeze-up date tells you when Circle 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 Circle Lake has landed as early as Mar 3, 2024 and as late as Apr 28, 2013 — a spread of weeks around the Mar 29 median. Freeze-up has ranged from Nov 19, 2022 to Dec 18, 2001. 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. Circle Lake carries an overall water-quality grade of F — the full breakdown is on the lake report.
Source: Minnesota DNR Climate Office ice-in / ice-out records, observations from 2001-2024.