Please note: lake ice-in dates for the current year will not be posted in real time due to safety concerns, and because the ice cover may not be permanent for the season.
The DNR does not measure ice thickness on Minnesota lakes. Your safety is your responsibility. Check ice thickness as you go.
Ice is never 100% safe!
Ice in dates should not be used to track ice thickness for recreational use. Ice conditions can change rapidly and should be checked frequently. Review ice safety tips.
The definition of lake ice in can vary from lake to lake. For the citizen observers reporting data, ice in occurs when the entire lake is frozen over and the ice cover remains through winter. Observers do not report ice thickness.
Frequency of updates
The map is not updated in real time. Updates to the lake ice in map are made as information is available.
The map below depicts historical median lake ice in dates using data archived by the DNR and the MPCA. Median is defined as the date where one half of the ice in dates were earlier, and one half of the ice in dates were later, than the presented date. To achieve lake-to-lake consistency, only 1950 - present dates were used to calculate the median. A marker is created for those lakes with ice in data whose period of record spans 20 or more years.
Hovering over the marker will cause the lake name and the median ice in date to be displayed. Clicking on the marker will produce an information window containing lake name, ice in summary statistics, and a link for obtaining all available historical ice in dates for the lake.
The map below depicts the earliest lake ice in dates found in data archived by the DNR and the MPCA. A marker is created for those lakes with ice in data whose period of record spans 20 or more years.
Hovering over the marker will cause the lake name and the earliest ice in date to be displayed. Clicking on the marker will produce an information window containing lake name, ice in summary statistics, and a link for obtaining all available historical ice in dates for the lake.
The map below depicts the latest lake ice in dates found in data archived by the DNR and the MPCA. A marker is created for those lakes with ice in data whose period of record spans 20 or more years.
Hovering over the marker will cause the lake name and the latest ice in date to be displayed. Clicking on the marker will produce an information window containing lake name, ice in summary statistics, and a link for obtaining all available historical ice in dates for the lake.
The map below depicts lake ice in date reports received by the DNR and the MPCA for . Hovering over the marker will cause the lake name and the ice in date to be displayed. Clicking on the marker will produce an information window containing lake name, ice in date, ice in summary statistics, and a link for obtaining all available historical ice in dates for the lake.