When Does Wells Lake Freeze? Typical Ice-In Nov 29, Ice-Out Mar 29
Wells Lake in Rice County, Minnesota usually freezes over around Nov 29, and usually has ice-out around Mar 29, based on Minnesota DNR ice observations recorded between 1995-2024. That works out to roughly 245 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 Wells Lake
| Typical freeze-up (ice-in) | Nov 29 |
| Typical ice-out | Mar 29 |
| Earliest freeze-up on record | Nov 8, 1995 |
| Latest freeze-up on record | Dec 21, 2001 |
| Earliest ice-out on record | Feb 28, 2024 |
| Latest ice-out on record | Apr 27, 2018 |
| Open-water season | ~245 days |
| Winters observed | 48 |
| Location | Rice County, Minnesota |
These are dates, not an ice-safety reading
A typical freeze-up date tells you when Wells 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 Wells Lake has landed as early as Feb 28, 2024 and as late as Apr 27, 2018 — a spread of weeks around the Mar 29 median. Freeze-up has ranged from Nov 8, 1995 to Dec 21, 2001. 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 Wells Lake is on the lake report.
Source: Minnesota DNR Climate Office ice-in / ice-out records, observations from 1995-2024.
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