When Does Sugar Lake Freeze? Typical Ice-In Dec 1, Ice-Out Apr 16
Sugar Lake in Aitkin County, Minnesota usually freezes over around Dec 1, and usually has ice-out around Apr 16, based on Minnesota DNR ice observations recorded between 2001-2013. That works out to roughly 229 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 Sugar Lake
| Typical freeze-up (ice-in) | Dec 1 |
| Typical ice-out | Apr 16 |
| Earliest freeze-up on record | Nov 25, 2003 |
| Latest freeze-up on record | Dec 20, 2001 |
| Earliest ice-out on record | Apr 10, 2005 |
| Latest ice-out on record | May 11, 2013 |
| Open-water season | ~229 days |
| Winters observed | 13 |
| Location | Aitkin County, Minnesota |
These are dates, not an ice-safety reading
A typical freeze-up date tells you when Sugar 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 Sugar Lake has landed as early as Apr 10, 2005 and as late as May 11, 2013 — a spread of weeks around the Apr 16 median. Freeze-up has ranged from Nov 25, 2003 to Dec 20, 2001. 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 Sugar Lake is on the lake report.
Source: Minnesota DNR Climate Office ice-in / ice-out records, observations from 2001-2013.
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