When Does Clear Lake Freeze? Typical Ice-In Nov 21, Ice-Out Apr 26
Clear Lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota usually freezes over around Nov 21, and usually has ice-out around Apr 26, based on Minnesota DNR ice observations recorded between 2002-2024. That works out to roughly 209 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 Clear Lake
| Typical freeze-up (ice-in) | Nov 21 |
| Typical ice-out | Apr 26 |
| Earliest freeze-up on record | Nov 5, 2002 |
| Latest freeze-up on record | Nov 29, 2024 |
| Earliest ice-out on record | Mar 30, 2010 |
| Latest ice-out on record | May 9, 2022 |
| Open-water season | ~209 days |
| Winters observed | 17 |
| Location | St. Louis County, Minnesota |
These are dates, not an ice-safety reading
A typical freeze-up date tells you when Clear 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 Clear Lake has landed as early as Mar 30, 2010 and as late as May 9, 2022 — a spread of weeks around the Apr 26 median. Freeze-up has ranged from Nov 5, 2002 to Nov 29, 2024. 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 Clear Lake is on the lake report.
Source: Minnesota DNR Climate Office ice-in / ice-out records, observations from 2002-2024.
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