When Does Wakefield Lake Freeze? Typical Ice-In Dec 1, Ice-Out Mar 28
Wakefield Lake in Ramsey County, Minnesota usually freezes over around Dec 1, and usually has ice-out around Mar 28, based on Minnesota DNR ice observations recorded between 2016-2024. That works out to roughly 248 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 Wakefield Lake
| Typical freeze-up (ice-in) | Dec 1 |
| Typical ice-out | Mar 28 |
| Earliest freeze-up on record | Nov 8, 2019 |
| Latest freeze-up on record | Dec 8, 2016 |
| Earliest ice-out on record | Mar 2, 2024 |
| Latest ice-out on record | Apr 28, 2018 |
| Open-water season | ~248 days |
| Winters observed | 19 |
| Location | Ramsey County, Minnesota |
These are dates, not an ice-safety reading
A typical freeze-up date tells you when Wakefield 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 Wakefield Lake has landed as early as Mar 2, 2024 and as late as Apr 28, 2018 — a spread of weeks around the Mar 28 median. Freeze-up has ranged from Nov 8, 2019 to Dec 8, 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 Wakefield Lake is on the lake report.
Source: Minnesota DNR Climate Office ice-in / ice-out records, observations from 2016-2024.
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