When does ice-out happen in Minnesota?

Across 951 Minnesota lakes with enough observations to average, typical ice-out ranges from around Mar 16 (Crystal Lake, Rice County) to around May 14 (Deer Yard Lake, Cook County). Southern and shallower lakes open first; deep northern lakes hold ice weeks longer. Any single year can run weeks early or late.

When do Minnesota lakes freeze over?

Typical freeze-up across 762 Minnesota lakes runs from around Nov 6 (Pomme de Terre Lake) to around Dec 21 (St. James Lake). Small shallow lakes lock up first; large deep lakes hold heat and can stay open into late December or beyond.

Ice-out is the date a lake is declared substantially free of ice. Observers report it lake by lake, and it is the date fishing openers, dock installation, and boat launches key off. It is not the day the last ice disappears — definitions vary slightly by observer, which is one reason a single year's date is less useful than a median across many winters.

Is the ice safe on Minnesota lakes right now?

This page cannot tell you that. It reports historical freeze and thaw dates, not current conditions, and we hold no ice-thickness measurement for any lake. The Minnesota DNR states there is no such thing as 100 percent safe ice, and that thickness varies widely across a single lake. Measure the ice yourself as you go out and read the agency ice-thickness guidelines first.

Minnesota Ice-Out and Freeze-Up Dates

Typical freeze-up and ice-out dates for 975 Minnesota lakes, from DNR observation records — 951 with a typical ice-out date and 762 with a typical freeze-up date. These are medians across many winters, not a forecast: individual years swing by weeks.

Updated 2026-07-20T13:08:09.728Z · Ice thickness guidelines →

975

Lakes with ice records

Mar 16

Earliest typical ice-out

May 14

Latest typical ice-out

Nov 6

Earliest typical freeze-up

First to Freeze in Minnesota

Lakes with the earliest typical freeze-up date.

#	Lake	County	Typical freeze-up	Winters	Grade
1	Pomme de Terre Lake	Grant	Nov 6	7	D
2	Stewart Lake	Lake	Nov 7	5	A
3	Devil'S Lake	Otter Tail	Nov 8	5	A
4	Roy Lake	Mahnomen	Nov 9	8	C
5	Shoal Lake	Itasca	Nov 10	7	C
6	Sand Hill Lake	Polk	Nov 10	5	B
7	Ghost Lake	Itasca	Nov 10	5	B
8	Holly Lake	Cook	Nov 11	11	D
9	Pine Mountain Lake	Cass	Nov 12	17	A
10	Sawbill Lake	Cook	Nov 12	14	C
11	Orchard Lake	Dakota	Nov 12	9	C
12	Hoff Lake	Meeker	Nov 12	7	F
13	Big Bass Lake	Beltrami	Nov 12	6	A
14	Midge Lake	Hubbard	Nov 13	75	A
15	Owl Lake	Hubbard	Nov 13	44	B
16	Buck Lake	Itasca	Nov 13	21	B
17	Crystal Lake	Cass	Nov 13	15	A
18	Dora Lake	Itasca	Nov 13	15	B
19	Colby Lake	St. Louis	Nov 13	14	C
20	Clear Lake	Itasca	Nov 13	11	A
21	Gander Lake	Lake	Nov 13	10	D
22	White Lake	St. Louis	Nov 13	8	A
23	Island Lake	Itasca	Nov 13	6	C
24	Leech Lake	Cass	Nov 14	74	B
25	Boy Bay Lake	Cass	Nov 14	74	B

Last to Freeze in Minnesota

Lakes that hold open water longest — typically the largest and deepest, which store more summer heat.

#	Lake	County	Typical freeze-up	Winters	Grade
1	St. James Lake	Watonwan	Dec 21	16	D
2	Manuella Lake	Meeker	Dec 18	18	B
3	Fox Lake	Martin	Dec 18	13	F
4	Ten Mile Lake	Otter Tail	Dec 17	10	B
5	Long Lake	Hubbard	Dec 16	68	A
6	Little Chippewa Lake	Douglas	Dec 16	9	C
7	Big Sand Lake	Hubbard	Dec 15	27	A
8	Josephine Lake	Ramsey	Dec 15	24	C
9	Belle Lake	Meeker	Dec 14	14	C
10	Cedar Lake	Wright	Dec 13	79	B
11	Latoka Lake	Douglas	Dec 12	43	A
12	Diamond Lake	Hennepin	Dec 12	14	D
13	Mitchell Lake	Crow Wing	Dec 12	13	B
14	Irene Lake	Douglas	Dec 12	12	B
15	Bde Maka Ska Lake	Hennepin	Dec 11	154	C
16	Ten Mile Lake	Cass	Dec 11	91	A
17	Charlotte Lake	Wright	Dec 11	25	A
18	Mcmahon Lake	Scott	Dec 11	15	F
19	Bloody Lake	Murray	Dec 11	10	F
20	Harriet Lake	Hennepin	Dec 10	160	D
21	Roosevelt Lake	Cass	Dec 10	41	A
22	Whitefish Lake	Crow Wing	Dec 10	34	A
23	Big Lake	Sherburne	Dec 10	23	A
24	Hiawatha Lake	Hennepin	Dec 10	21	D
25	Mary Lake	Crow Wing	Dec 10	12	C

Earliest Ice-Out in Minnesota

The first lakes to open in spring.

#	Lake	County	Typical ice-out	Winters	Grade
1	Crystal Lake	Rice	Mar 16	3	F
2	Deans Lake	Scott	Mar 18	9	B
3	Manor Woods Pond	Olmsted	Mar 18	6	F
4	Pike Lake	Scott	Mar 19	15	F
5	Little Tuttle Lake	Martin	Mar 20	14	F
6	State Line Lake	Freeborn	Mar 20	5	D
7	Terrapin Lake	Washington	Mar 20	4	C
8	Mays Lake	Washington	Mar 20	4	A
9	Hall Lake	Martin	Mar 21	29	F
10	Clear Lake	Martin	Mar 21	9	D
11	Cottonwood Lake	Lyon	Mar 21	9	F
12	Fox Lake	Martin	Mar 22	13	F
13	Round Lake	Anoka	Mar 22	9	B
14	Goose Lake	Ramsey	Mar 22	7	F
15	North Silver Lake	Martin	Mar 23	30	D
16	Union Lake	Rice	Mar 23	12	F
17	Klawitter Pond	Washington	Mar 23	12	F
18	Ann Lake	Sherburne	Mar 24	3	A
19	South Silver Lake	Martin	Mar 25	40	F
20	Mud Lake	Martin	Mar 25	27	F
21	Mcmahon Lake	Scott	Mar 25	15	F
22	German Lake	Le Sueur	Mar 25	10	D
23	Indian Lake	Nobles	Mar 25	10	F
24	Thole Lake	Scott	Mar 25	4	F
25	Snyder Lake	Hennepin	Mar 25	4	F

Latest Ice-Out in Minnesota

The last lakes to open — usually deep or far north.

#	Lake	County	Typical ice-out	Winters	Grade
1	Deer Yard Lake	Cook	May 14	5	B
2	Esther Lake	Cook	May 13	4	C
3	Crescent Lake	Cook	May 12	3	C
4	Kane Lake	Lake	May 9	6	D
5	Greenwood Lake	Cook	May 8	25	A
6	Holly Lake	Cook	May 8	11	D
7	South Twin Lake	Beltrami	May 8	5	A
8	Devil Track Lake	Cook	May 7	56	B
9	Sawbill Lake	Cook	May 7	14	C
10	Caribou Lake	Itasca	May 7	9	A
11	Moose Lake	Lake	May 7	4	B
12	Gunflint Lake	Cook	May 6	87	A
13	Trout Lake	Cook	May 6	8	A
14	East Bearskin Lake	Cook	May 6	3	B
15	Mountain Lake	Unknown	May 5	51	A
16	Rove Lake	Cook	May 5	51	C
17	Hungry Jack Lake	Cook	May 5	24	A
18	Brule Lake	Cook	May 5	8	B
19	Medicine Lake	Beltrami	May 5	6	B
20	Basswood Lake	Lake	May 5	6	C
21	Big Traverse Bay Lake	Lake of the Woods	May 5	6	C
22	Lake of the Woods	Lake of the Woods	May 5	6	C
23	Low: Mpca Co-Located Site Muskeg Bay Lake	Lake of the Woods	May 5	6	C
24	Low: Mpca Co-Located Site Big Traverse Bay Lake	Lake of the Woods	May 5	6	C
25	Low: Mpca Co-Located Site Lake	Lake of the Woods	May 5	6	C

Longest Ice Season in Minnesota

Fewest open-water days per year.

#	Lake	County	Open-water days	Ice-covered days	Grade
1	Holly Lake	Cook	187	178	D
2	Sawbill Lake	Cook	189	176	C
3	Shoal Lake	Itasca	191	174	C
4	Kane Lake	Lake	195	170	D
5	Roy Lake	Mahnomen	196	169	C
6	Tait Lake	Cook	198	167	B
7	Johnson Lake	Lake	199	166	B
8	Medicine Lake	Beltrami	199	166	B
9	Leech Lake	Cass	200	165	B
10	Boy Bay Lake	Cass	200	165	B
11	Portage Bay Lake	Cass	200	165	A
12	Traders Bay Lake	Cass	200	165	A
13	Headquarters Bay Lake	Cass	200	165	B
14	Sucker Bay Lake	Cass	200	165	B
15	Walker Bay Lake	Cass	200	165	A
16	Agency Bay Lake	Cass	200	165	A
17	Devil Track Lake	Cook	200	165	B
18	Bassett Lake	St. Louis	200	165	C
19	Perch Lake	St. Louis	200	165	A
20	Gander Lake	Lake	200	165	D
21	Lax Lake	Lake	202	163	B
22	Island Lake	Itasca	202	163	C
23	Toad Lake	Becker	203	162	B
24	Pleasant Lake	St. Louis	203	162	A
25	Hungry Jack Lake	Cook	204	161	A

These are dates, not ice conditions

A typical freeze-up date tells you roughly when a lake has iced over in past winters. It says nothing about whether the ice is safe today, and we hold no thickness measurement for any lake. Read the ice thickness guidelines and measure it yourself before going out.

All ice-out dates →All Minnesota lakes →Ice safety guide →

Source: Minnesota DNR Climate Office ice-in / ice-out records.