When Does Upper Red Lake Freeze? Typical Ice-In Nov 22, Ice-Out Apr 29
Upper Red Lake in Beltrami County, Minnesota usually freezes over around Nov 22, and usually has ice-out around Apr 29, based on Minnesota DNR ice observations recorded between 2012-2019. That works out to roughly 207 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 Red Lake
| Typical freeze-up (ice-in) | Nov 22 |
| Typical ice-out | Apr 29 |
| Earliest freeze-up on record | Nov 12, 2019 |
| Latest freeze-up on record | Dec 16, 2016 |
| Earliest ice-out on record | Mar 27, 2012 |
| Latest ice-out on record | May 15, 2013 |
| Open-water season | ~207 days |
| Winters observed | 23 |
| Location | Beltrami County, Minnesota |
These are dates, not an ice-safety reading
A typical freeze-up date tells you when Upper Red 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 Red Lake has landed as early as Mar 27, 2012 and as late as May 15, 2013 — a spread of weeks around the Apr 29 median. Freeze-up has ranged from Nov 12, 2019 to Dec 16, 2016. 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 Red Lake is on the lake report.
Source: Minnesota DNR Climate Office ice-in / ice-out records, observations from 2012-2019.
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