Ice-Out Dates for Minnesota Lakes

Historical ice-out data for 1,071 Minnesota lakes from the Minnesota DNR. Find when your lake typically thaws and compare across the state.

1,071

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

Latest Ice-Out, Last Lakes to Thaw

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

Longest Open Water Season

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

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 1,071 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.