When Does O'Leary Lake Freeze? Typical Ice-In Nov 24, Ice-Out Mar 31
O'Leary Lake in Dakota County, Minnesota usually freezes over around Nov 24, and usually has ice-out around Mar 31, based on Minnesota DNR ice observations recorded between 2002-2008. That works out to roughly 238 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 O'Leary Lake
| Typical freeze-up (ice-in) | Nov 24 |
| Typical ice-out | Mar 31 |
| Earliest freeze-up on record | Nov 21, 2007 |
| Latest freeze-up on record | Nov 26, 2005 |
| Earliest ice-out on record | Mar 16, 2002 |
| Latest ice-out on record | Apr 17, 2008 |
| Open-water season | ~238 days |
| Winters observed | 9 |
| Location | Dakota County, Minnesota |
These are dates, not an ice-safety reading
A typical freeze-up date tells you when O'Leary 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 O'Leary Lake has landed as early as Mar 16, 2002 and as late as Apr 17, 2008 — a spread of weeks around the Mar 31 median. Freeze-up has ranged from Nov 21, 2007 to Nov 26, 2005. 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 O'Leary Lake is on the lake report.
Source: Minnesota DNR Climate Office ice-in / ice-out records, observations from 2002-2008.
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