When Does Shoal Lake Freeze? Typical Ice-In Nov 10, Ice-Out May 3
Shoal Lake in Itasca County, Minnesota usually freezes over around Nov 10, and usually has ice-out around May 3, based on Minnesota DNR ice observations recorded between 1996-2018. That works out to roughly 191 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 Shoal Lake
| Typical freeze-up (ice-in) | Nov 10 |
| Typical ice-out | May 3 |
| Earliest freeze-up on record | Nov 9, 2018 |
| Latest freeze-up on record | Nov 10, 2017 |
| Earliest ice-out on record | Apr 12, 2015 |
| Latest ice-out on record | May 5, 1996 |
| Open-water season | ~191 days |
| Winters observed | 7 |
| Location | Itasca County, Minnesota |
These are dates, not an ice-safety reading
A typical freeze-up date tells you when Shoal 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 Shoal Lake has landed as early as Apr 12, 2015 and as late as May 5, 1996 — a spread of weeks around the May 3 median. Freeze-up has ranged from Nov 9, 2018 to Nov 10, 2017. 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. Shoal Lake carries an overall water-quality grade of C — the full breakdown is on the lake report.
Source: Minnesota DNR Climate Office ice-in / ice-out records, observations from 1996-2018.