When Does Upper Cormorant Lake Freeze? Typical Ice-In Nov 23, Ice-Out Apr 26
Upper Cormorant Lake in Becker County, Minnesota usually freezes over around Nov 23, and usually has ice-out around Apr 26, based on Minnesota DNR ice observations recorded between 1995-2022. That works out to roughly 211 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 Upper Cormorant Lake
| Typical freeze-up (ice-in) | Nov 23 |
| Typical ice-out | Apr 26 |
| Earliest freeze-up on record | Nov 10, 1995 |
| Latest freeze-up on record | Dec 7, 2017 |
| Earliest ice-out on record | Mar 29, 2016 |
| Latest ice-out on record | May 6, 2022 |
| Open-water season | ~211 days |
| Winters observed | 20 |
| Location | Becker County, Minnesota |
These are dates, not an ice-safety reading
A typical freeze-up date tells you when Upper Cormorant 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 Upper Cormorant Lake has landed as early as Mar 29, 2016 and as late as May 6, 2022 — a spread of weeks around the Apr 26 median. Freeze-up has ranged from Nov 10, 1995 to Dec 7, 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. Upper Cormorant 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 1995-2022.