When Does Gunflint Lake Freeze? Typical Ice-In Dec 9, Ice-Out May 6
Gunflint Lake in Cook County, Minnesota usually freezes over around Dec 9, and usually has ice-out around May 6, based on Minnesota DNR ice observations recorded between 1936-2012. That works out to roughly 217 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 Gunflint Lake
| Typical freeze-up (ice-in) | Dec 9 |
| Typical ice-out | May 6 |
| Earliest freeze-up on record | Nov 27, 2002 |
| Latest freeze-up on record | Dec 23, 2001 |
| Earliest ice-out on record | Mar 23, 2012 |
| Latest ice-out on record | Jun 3, 1936 |
| Open-water season | ~217 days |
| Winters observed | 87 |
| Location | Cook County, Minnesota |
These are dates, not an ice-safety reading
A typical freeze-up date tells you when Gunflint 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 Gunflint Lake has landed as early as Mar 23, 2012 and as late as Jun 3, 1936 — a spread of weeks around the May 6 median. Freeze-up has ranged from Nov 27, 2002 to Dec 23, 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 Gunflint Lake is on the lake report.
Source: Minnesota DNR Climate Office ice-in / ice-out records, observations from 1936-2012.
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