Minnesota Ice Out Dates: When Lakes Freeze Over and Thaw

1,006

Lakes with Ice Data

Mar 16

Earliest Typical Ice-Out

May 14

Latest Typical Ice-Out

Earliest Ice-Out, First Lakes to Thaw

Rank	Lake	County	Typical Ice-Out	Open Water Days
1	Crystal Lake	Rice	Mar 16	-
2	Manor Woods Pond	Olmsted	Mar 18	-
3	Deans Lake	Scott	Mar 18	258
4	Pike Lake	Scott	Mar 19	258
5	Clear Lake	Washington	Mar 20	-
6	State Line Lake	Freeborn	Mar 20	-
7	Little Tuttle Lake	Martin	Mar 20	256
8	Terrapin Lake	Washington	Mar 20	-
9	Mays Lake	Washington	Mar 20	-
10	Bright Lake	Martin	Mar 20	256
11	Clear Lake	Martin	Mar 21	256
12	Hall Lake	Martin	Mar 21	256
13	Cottonwood Lake	Lyon	Mar 21	253
14	Round Lake	Anoka	Mar 22	250
15	Goose Lake	Ramsey	Mar 22	-
16	Fox Lake	Martin	Mar 22	271
17	Union Lake	Rice	Mar 23	-
18	Klawitter Pond	Washington	Mar 23	257
19	North Silver Lake	Martin	Mar 23	251
20	Ann Lake	Sherburne	Mar 24	-
21	Mud Lake	Martin	Mar 25	251
22	Amber Lake	Martin	Mar 25	251
23	German Lake	Le Sueur	Mar 25	-
24	Indian Lake	Nobles	Mar 25	234
25	South Silver Lake	Martin	Mar 25	251

Latest Ice-Out, Last Lakes to Thaw

Rank	Lake	County	Typical Ice-Out	Open Water Days
1	Deer Yard Lake	Cook	May 14	-
2	Esther Lake	Cook	May 13	-
3	Crescent Lake	Cook	May 12	-
4	Kane Lake	Lake	May 9	195
5	Holly Lake	Cook	May 8	187
6	South Twin Lake	Beltrami	May 8	-
7	Greenwood Lake	Cook	May 8	209
8	Moose Lake	Lake	May 7	-
9	Caribou Lake	Itasca	May 7	208
10	Devil Track Lake	Cook	May 7	200
11	Sawbill Lake	Cook	May 7	189
12	Trout Lake	Cook	May 6	-
13	East Bearskin Lake	Cook	May 6	-
14	Gunflint Lake	Cook	May 6	217
15	Little Gunflint Lake	Cook	May 6	217
16	Medicine Lake	Beltrami	May 5	199
17	Portage Lake	Cass	May 5	204
18	Basswood Lake	Lake	May 5	-
19	Sucker Lake	Lake	May 5	-
20	Hungry Jack Lake	Cook	May 5	204
21	Big Traverse Bay Lake	Lake of the Woods	May 5	-
22	Brule Lake	Cook	May 5	-
23	Lake of the Woods	Lake of the Woods	May 5	-
24	Low Lake	Lake of the Woods	May 5	-
25	Mountain Lake	Unknown	May 5	217

Longest Open Water Season

Rank	Lake	County	Open Water Days	Ice-Out	Ice-In
1	Fox Lake	Martin	271 days	Mar 22	Dec 18
2	Diamond Lake	Hennepin	261 days	Mar 26	Dec 12
3	Mcmahon Lake	Scott	261 days	Mar 25	Dec 11
4	Pike Lake	Scott	258 days	Mar 19	Dec 2
5	St James Lake	Watonwan	258 days	Apr 7	Dec 21
6	Deans Lake	Scott	258 days	Mar 18	Dec 1
7	Klawitter Pond	Washington	257 days	Mar 23	Dec 5
8	Clear Lake	Martin	256 days	Mar 21	Dec 2
9	Hall Lake	Martin	256 days	Mar 21	Dec 2
10	Little Tuttle Lake	Martin	256 days	Mar 20	Dec 1
11	Bright Lake	Martin	256 days	Mar 20	Dec 1
12	Pepin Lake	Pepin	254 days	Mar 29	Dec 8
13	Como Lake	Ramsey	253 days	Mar 28	Dec 6
14	Oak Lake	Carver	253 days	Mar 29	Dec 7
15	Josephine Lake	Ramsey	253 days	Apr 6	Dec 15
16	Cottonwood Lake	Lyon	253 days	Mar 21	Nov 29
17	Rays Lake	Le Sueur	252 days	Mar 29	Dec 6
18	Loon Lake	Waseca	252 days	Mar 27	Dec 4
19	Bloody Lake	Murray	252 days	Apr 3	Dec 11
20	Mud Lake	Martin	251 days	Mar 25	Dec 1
21	Rush Lake	Sherburne	251 days	Apr 1	Dec 8
22	Belle Lake	Meeker	251 days	Apr 7	Dec 14
23	Manuella Lake	Meeker	251 days	Apr 11	Dec 18
24	Amber Lake	Martin	251 days	Mar 25	Dec 1
25	Little Chippewa Lake	Douglas	251 days	Apr 9	Dec 16

First Lakes to Freeze Over

Earliest typical freeze-up (ice-in) date. Small, shallow lakes lock up first.

Rank	Lake	County	Typical Freeze-Up	Typical Ice-Out
1	Pomme de Terre Lake	Grant	Nov 6	Apr 10
2	Stewart Lake	Lake	Nov 7	-
3	Devil'S Lake	Otter Tail	Nov 8	-
4	Roy Lake	Mahnomen	Nov 9	Apr 27
5	Shoal Lake	Itasca	Nov 10	May 3
6	Sand Hill Lake	Polk	Nov 10	-
7	Ghost Lake	Itasca	Nov 10	-
8	Holly Lake	Cook	Nov 11	May 8
9	Pine Mountain Lake	Cass	Nov 12	Apr 16
10	Sawbill Lake	Cook	Nov 12	May 7
11	Orchard Lake	Dakota	Nov 12	Apr 8
12	Hoff Lake	Meeker	Nov 12	Apr 15
13	Big Bass Lake	Beltrami	Nov 12	Apr 22
14	Midge Lake	Hubbard	Nov 13	Apr 17
15	Owl Lake	Hubbard	Nov 13	Apr 15
16	Buck Lake	Itasca	Nov 13	Apr 21
17	Crystal Lake	Cass	Nov 13	Apr 16
18	Dora Lake	Itasca	Nov 13	Apr 20
19	Colby Lake	St. Louis	Nov 13	Apr 21
20	Clear Lake	Itasca	Nov 13	Apr 16
21	Gander Lake	Lake	Nov 13	Apr 27
22	White Lake	St. Louis	Nov 13	Apr 23
23	Island Lake	Itasca	Nov 13	Apr 25
24	Leech Lake	Cass	Nov 14	Apr 28
25	Boy Bay Lake	Cass	Nov 14	Apr 28

Last Lakes to Freeze Over

Latest typical freeze-up. Large, deep lakes store summer heat and can stay open for weeks longer.

Rank	Lake	County	Typical Freeze-Up	Typical Ice-Out
1	St James Lake	Watonwan	Dec 21	Apr 7
2	Manuella Lake	Meeker	Dec 18	Apr 11
3	Fox Lake	Martin	Dec 18	Mar 22
4	Ten Mile Lake	Otter Tail	Dec 17	Apr 11
5	Long Lake	Hubbard	Dec 16	Apr 23
6	Little Chippewa Lake	Douglas	Dec 16	Apr 9
7	Big Sand Lake	Hubbard	Dec 15	Apr 26
8	Josephine Lake	Ramsey	Dec 15	Apr 6
9	Belle Lake	Meeker	Dec 14	Apr 7
10	Cedar Lake	Wright	Dec 13	Apr 12
11	Latoka Lake	Douglas	Dec 12	Apr 19
12	Diamond Lake	Hennepin	Dec 12	Mar 26
13	Mitchell Lake	Crow Wing	Dec 12	Apr 17
14	Irene Lake	Douglas	Dec 12	Apr 10
15	Bde Maka Ska Lake	Hennepin	Dec 11	Apr 9
16	Ten Mile Lake	Cass	Dec 11	Apr 25
17	Charlotte Lake	Wright	Dec 11	Apr 7
18	Mcmahon Lake	Scott	Dec 11	Mar 25
19	Bloody Lake	Murray	Dec 11	Apr 3
20	Harriet Lake	Hennepin	Dec 10	Apr 7
21	Roosevelt Lake	Cass	Dec 10	Apr 19
22	Whitefish Lake	Crow Wing	Dec 10	Apr 25
23	Big Lake	Sherburne	Dec 10	Apr 7
24	Hiawatha Lake	Hennepin	Dec 10	Apr 5
25	Mary Lake	Crow Wing	Dec 10	Apr 15

Ice Dates by State

Minnesota ice-out dates (969 lakes) →

These are dates, not ice conditions

Every date on this page is a median across many observed winters. None of it tells you whether the ice is safe today, and we hold no ice-thickness measurement for any lake. Read the ice thickness guidelines and measure it yourself before going out.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do Minnesota lakes typically thaw?

Most Minnesota lakes have ice-out between mid-April and early May. Southern lakes thaw earlier (late March to mid-April) while northern lakes near the Canadian border may not thaw until May. The 1,006 lakes in our database have median ice-out dates based on Minnesota DNR historical observations.

What is the earliest ice-out on record?

The earliest ice-out dates in our database are in mid to late March for southern Minnesota lakes. Crystal Lake in Rice County typically has one of the earliest ice-out dates around Mar 16.

How long is the open water season?

The open water season ranges from about 170 days for far northern lakes to over 220 days for southern Minnesota lakes. Fox Lake has one of the longest open water seasons at approximately 271 days.