On Saturday, March 29th, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office Water Patrol, in partnership with Freshwater Society, declared ice-out on Lake Minnetonka at 1:32 pm. This declaration comes more than two weeks earlier than the lakes median ice out date of April 13th.
Ice out is normally confirmed when a boat can safely navigate from shore to any other shore, through any channel, and around any island without being stopped, impeded, or obstructed by ice.
Freshwater Society has been tracking ice out on Lake Minnetonka since the 1960’s. Ice out records date back to 1855. The earliest record ice out on record for the lake was on March 11, 1878. Last year, if you may recall, ice out was declared on March 13, 2024.
To read more, visit the Freshwater Society article titled “Ice Out on Lake Minnetonka”.