When Does Meadow Lake Freeze? Typical Ice-In Nov 17, Ice-Out Mar 29
Meadow Lake in Hennepin County, Minnesota usually freezes over around Nov 17, and usually has ice-out around Mar 29, based on Minnesota DNR ice observations recorded between 2006-2016. That works out to roughly 233 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 Meadow Lake
| Typical freeze-up (ice-in) | Nov 17 |
| Typical ice-out | Mar 29 |
| Earliest freeze-up on record | Oct 24, 2006 |
| Latest freeze-up on record | Dec 24, 2015 |
| Earliest ice-out on record | Mar 13, 2016 |
| Latest ice-out on record | Apr 26, 2013 |
| Open-water season | ~233 days |
| Winters observed | 28 |
| Location | Hennepin County, Minnesota |
These are dates, not an ice-safety reading
A typical freeze-up date tells you when Meadow 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 Meadow Lake has landed as early as Mar 13, 2016 and as late as Apr 26, 2013 — a spread of weeks around the Mar 29 median. Freeze-up has ranged from Oct 24, 2006 to Dec 24, 2015. 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 Meadow Lake is on the lake report.
Source: Minnesota DNR Climate Office ice-in / ice-out records, observations from 2006-2016.
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