When Does Stone Lake Freeze? Typical Ice-In Nov 29, Ice-Out Mar 30
Stone Lake in Carver County, Minnesota usually freezes over around Nov 29, and usually has ice-out around Mar 30, based on Minnesota DNR ice observations recorded between 2018-2024. That works out to roughly 244 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 Stone Lake
| Typical freeze-up (ice-in) | Nov 29 |
| Typical ice-out | Mar 30 |
| Earliest freeze-up on record | Nov 12, 2019 |
| Latest freeze-up on record | Dec 24, 2020 |
| Earliest ice-out on record | Mar 3, 2024 |
| Latest ice-out on record | May 1, 2018 |
| Open-water season | ~244 days |
| Winters observed | 32 |
| Location | Carver County, Minnesota |
These are dates, not an ice-safety reading
A typical freeze-up date tells you when Stone 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 Stone Lake has landed as early as Mar 3, 2024 and as late as May 1, 2018 — a spread of weeks around the Mar 30 median. Freeze-up has ranged from Nov 12, 2019 to Dec 24, 2020. 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. Stone Lake carries an overall water-quality grade of B — the full breakdown is on the lake report.
Source: Minnesota DNR Climate Office ice-in / ice-out records, observations from 2018-2024.