When Does Cotton Lake Freeze? Typical Ice-In Nov 25, Ice-Out Apr 23
Cotton Lake in Becker County, Minnesota usually freezes over around Nov 25, and usually has ice-out around Apr 23, based on Minnesota DNR ice observations recorded between 2001-2012. That works out to roughly 216 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 Cotton Lake
| Typical freeze-up (ice-in) | Nov 25 |
| Typical ice-out | Apr 23 |
| Earliest freeze-up on record | Nov 20, 2011 |
| Latest freeze-up on record | Dec 7, 2001 |
| Earliest ice-out on record | Mar 24, 2012 |
| Latest ice-out on record | Nov 23, 2010 |
| Open-water season | ~216 days |
| Winters observed | 33 |
| Location | Becker County, Minnesota |
These are dates, not an ice-safety reading
A typical freeze-up date tells you when Cotton 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 Cotton Lake has landed as early as Mar 24, 2012 and as late as Nov 23, 2010 — a spread of weeks around the Apr 23 median. Freeze-up has ranged from Nov 20, 2011 to Dec 7, 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. The full nutrient and algae breakdown for Cotton Lake is on the lake report.
Source: Minnesota DNR Climate Office ice-in / ice-out records, observations from 2001-2012.
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