When Does Upper Orono Lake Freeze? Typical Ice-In Nov 29, Ice-Out Apr 3
Upper Orono Lake in Sherburne County, Minnesota usually freezes over around Nov 29, and usually has ice-out around Apr 3, based on Minnesota DNR ice observations recorded between 2015-2018. That works out to roughly 240 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 Orono Lake
| Typical freeze-up (ice-in) | Nov 29 |
| Typical ice-out | Apr 3 |
| Earliest freeze-up on record | Nov 10, 2018 |
| Latest freeze-up on record | Dec 19, 2015 |
| Earliest ice-out on record | Mar 27, 2017 |
| Latest ice-out on record | Apr 27, 2018 |
| Open-water season | ~240 days |
| Winters observed | 10 |
| Location | Sherburne County, Minnesota |
These are dates, not an ice-safety reading
A typical freeze-up date tells you when Upper Orono 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 Orono Lake has landed as early as Mar 27, 2017 and as late as Apr 27, 2018 — a spread of weeks around the Apr 3 median. Freeze-up has ranged from Nov 10, 2018 to Dec 19, 2015. 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 Upper Orono Lake is on the lake report.
Source: Minnesota DNR Climate Office ice-in / ice-out records, observations from 2015-2018.
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