Ice-Out Dates for Minnesota Lakes

Historical ice-out data for 1,030 Minnesota lakes from the Minnesota DNR. Find when your lake typically thaws and compare across the state.

1,030

Lakes with Ice Data

Mar 18

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	Manor Woods Pond	Olmsted	Mar 18	-	F
2	Deans Lake	Scott	Mar 18	258	B
3	Pike Lake	Scott	Mar 19	258	F
4	Little Tuttle Lake	Martin	Mar 20	256	F
5	State Line Lake	Freeborn	Mar 20	-	D
6	Hall Lake	Martin	Mar 21	256	F
7	Cottonwood Lake	Lyon	Mar 21	253	F
8	Goose Lake	Ramsey	Mar 22	-	F
9	Round Lake	Anoka	Mar 22	250	B
10	Union Lake	Rice	Mar 23	-	C
11	Ann Lake	Sherburne	Mar 24	-	A
12	Amber Lake	Martin	Mar 25	251	F
13	Indian Lake	Nobles	Mar 25	234	F
14	South Silver Lake	Martin	Mar 25	251	F
15	Mcmahon Lake	Scott	Mar 25	261	F
16	Snyder Lake	Hennepin	Mar 25	-	F
17	German Lake	Le Sueur	Mar 25	-	D
18	George Lake	Martin	Mar 26	249	F
19	Diamond Lake	Hennepin	Mar 26	261	F
20	Okabena Lake	Nobles	Mar 26	-	F
21	Mill Pond	Scott	Mar 26	248	D
22	Eagle Lake	Carver	Mar 27	249	F
23	Loon Lake	Waseca	Mar 27	252	F
24	Budd Lake	Martin	Mar 27	250	F
25	Little Lake	Chisago	Mar 27	244	D

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	-	B
3	16-0023-00 Lake	Cook	May 13	-	A
4	Kane Lake	Lake	May 9	195	D
5	Holly Lake	Cook	May 8	187	D
6	Greenwood Lake	Cook	May 8	209	A
7	South Twin Lake	Beltrami	May 8	-	A
8	Sawbill Lake	Cook	May 7	189	C
9	Moose Lake	Lake	May 7	-	B
10	Devil Track Lake	Cook	May 7	200	B
11	Caribou Lake	Itasca	May 7	208	A
12	East Bearskin Lake	Cook	May 6	-	B
13	Trout Lake	Cook	May 6	-	A
14	Gunflint Lake	Cook	May 6	217	A
15	Little Gunflint Lake	Cook	May 6	217	A
16	Lake of the Woods	Lake of the Woods	May 5	-	D
17	Basswood Lake	Lake	May 5	-	C
18	Lake of the Woods	Lake of the Woods	May 5	-	C
19	Lake of the Woods	Lake of the Woods	May 5	-	C
20	Rove Lake	Cook	May 5	217	C
21	Medicine Lake	Beltrami	May 5	199	B
22	Big Traverse Bay Lake	Lake of the Woods	May 5	-	B
23	Portage Lake	Cass	May 5	204	B
24	Sucker Lake	Lake	May 5	-	B
25	Brule Lake	Cook	May 5	-	B

Longest Open Water Season

Rank	Lake	County	Open Water Days	Ice-Out	Ice-In	Grade
1	Diamond Lake	Hennepin	261 days	Mar 26	Dec 12	F
2	Mcmahon Lake	Scott	261 days	Mar 25	Dec 11	F
3	Pike Lake	Scott	258 days	Mar 19	Dec 2	F
4	St. James Lake	Watonwan	258 days	Apr 7	Dec 21	D
5	Deans Lake	Scott	258 days	Mar 18	Dec 1	B
6	Hall Lake	Martin	256 days	Mar 21	Dec 2	F
7	Little Tuttle Lake	Martin	256 days	Mar 20	Dec 1	F
8	Pepin Lake	Pepin	254 days	Mar 29	Dec 8	F
9	Como Lake	Ramsey	253 days	Mar 28	Dec 6	F
10	Cottonwood Lake	Lyon	253 days	Mar 21	Nov 29	F
11	Oak Lake	Carver	253 days	Mar 29	Dec 7	C
12	Josephine Lake	Ramsey	253 days	Apr 6	Dec 15	C
13	Loon Lake	Waseca	252 days	Mar 27	Dec 4	F
14	Rays Lake	Le Sueur	252 days	Mar 29	Dec 6	D
15	Rush Lake	Sherburne	251 days	Apr 1	Dec 8	F
16	Amber Lake	Martin	251 days	Mar 25	Dec 1	F
17	South Silver Lake	Martin	251 days	Mar 25	Dec 1	F
18	Belle Lake	Meeker	251 days	Apr 7	Dec 14	C
19	Little Chippewa Lake	Douglas	251 days	Apr 9	Dec 16	C
20	Manuella Lake	Meeker	251 days	Apr 11	Dec 18	B
21	Turtle Lake	Ramsey	250 days	Mar 29	Dec 4	F
22	Budd Lake	Martin	250 days	Mar 27	Dec 2	F
23	Turtle Lake	Ramsey	250 days	Mar 29	Dec 4	B
24	Unnamed Lake	Nicollet	250 days	Mar 27	Dec 2	B
25	Round Lake	Anoka	250 days	Mar 22	Nov 27	B

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 1,030 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. Manor Woods Pond in Olmsted County typically has one of the earliest ice-out dates around Mar 18.

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. Diamond Lake has one of the longest open water seasons at approximately 261 days.