When Does the Ice Go Out on Terrapin Lake? Typical Ice-Out Mar 20
Terrapin Lake in Washington County, Minnesota usually has ice-out around Mar 20, based on Minnesota DNR ice observations recorded between 2009-2012. These are typical dates across many winters, not a forecast — individual years swing by weeks in either direction.
Ice record for Terrapin Lake
| Typical ice-out | Mar 20 |
| Earliest ice-out on record | Mar 19, 2012 |
| Latest ice-out on record | Apr 3, 2009 |
| Winters observed | 4 |
| Location | Washington County, Minnesota |
These are dates, not an ice-safety reading
A typical freeze-up date tells you when Terrapin 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 Terrapin Lake has landed as early as Mar 19, 2012 and as late as Apr 3, 2009 — a spread of weeks around the Mar 20 median. 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 Terrapin Lake is on the lake report.
Source: Minnesota DNR Climate Office ice-in / ice-out records, observations from 2009-2012.
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