When Does Pepin Lake Freeze? Typical Ice-In Dec 8, Ice-Out Mar 29
Pepin Lake in Pepin County, Minnesota usually freezes over around Dec 8, and usually has ice-out around Mar 29, based on Minnesota DNR ice observations recorded between 1843-2000. That works out to roughly 254 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 Pepin Lake
| Typical freeze-up (ice-in) | Dec 8 |
| Typical ice-out | Mar 29 |
| Earliest freeze-up on record | Nov 2, 1882 |
| Latest freeze-up on record | Dec 30, 1890 |
| Earliest ice-out on record | Feb 29, 2000 |
| Latest ice-out on record | May 20, 1843 |
| Open-water season | ~254 days |
| Winters observed | 164 |
| Location | Pepin County, Minnesota |
These are dates, not an ice-safety reading
A typical freeze-up date tells you when Pepin 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 Pepin Lake has landed as early as Feb 29, 2000 and as late as May 20, 1843 — a spread of weeks around the Mar 29 median. Freeze-up has ranged from Nov 2, 1882 to Dec 30, 1890. 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 Pepin Lake is on the lake report.
Source: Minnesota DNR Climate Office ice-in / ice-out records, observations from 1843-2000.
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