When Does the Ice Go Out on Knife Lake? Typical Ice-Out Apr 12
Knife Lake in Kanabec County, Minnesota usually has ice-out around Apr 12, based on Minnesota DNR ice observations recorded between 1992-2013. These are typical dates across many winters, not a forecast — individual years swing by weeks in either direction.
Ice record for Knife Lake
| Typical ice-out | Apr 12 |
| Earliest ice-out on record | Mar 21, 2012 |
| Latest ice-out on record | May 7, 2013 |
| Winters observed | 46 |
| Location | Kanabec County, Minnesota |
These are dates, not an ice-safety reading
A typical freeze-up date tells you when Knife 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 Knife Lake has landed as early as Mar 21, 2012 and as late as May 7, 2013 — a spread of weeks around the Apr 12 median. 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. Knife 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 1992-2013.