When Does Napoleon Lake Freeze? Typical Ice-In Nov 20, Ice-Out Apr 29
Napoleon Lake in Itasca County, Minnesota usually freezes over around Nov 20, and usually has ice-out around Apr 29, based on Minnesota DNR ice observations recorded between 2017-2024. That works out to roughly 205 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 Napoleon Lake
| Typical freeze-up (ice-in) | Nov 20 |
| Typical ice-out | Apr 29 |
| Earliest freeze-up on record | Nov 10, 2017 |
| Latest freeze-up on record | Nov 30, 2024 |
| Earliest ice-out on record | Apr 25, 2020 |
| Latest ice-out on record | May 9, 2022 |
| Open-water season | ~205 days |
| Winters observed | 9 |
| Location | Itasca County, Minnesota |
These are dates, not an ice-safety reading
A typical freeze-up date tells you when Napoleon 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 Napoleon Lake has landed as early as Apr 25, 2020 and as late as May 9, 2022 — a spread of weeks around the Apr 29 median. Freeze-up has ranged from Nov 10, 2017 to Nov 30, 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 Napoleon Lake is on the lake report.
Source: Minnesota DNR Climate Office ice-in / ice-out records, observations from 2017-2024.
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