We have had some good weather for making ice over the last two weeks and that will help solidify that first ice sheet on lakes around the Alexandria area. Although unofficial, the reports are that all of the lakes are covered with the exception of some portions of Lake Miltona, Le Homme Dieu, Ida, Osakis and Victoria. The channels between the chain of lakes remain open. This is by no means a complete list as there are 350+ lakes in Douglas County. The ice depths vary greatly and therefore use extreme caution before heading out on any lakes, no matter how far into winter we go.
Some smaller lakes that are reporting walkable ice cover (meaning 4+ inches) include Lake Reno, Maple Lake, Brophy, Cowdry and Stowe Lake (near Brandon). Again, this is just a preliminary list of only a handful of lakes. We hope to get an official check of ice depth within the next week.
Warmer temps forecast for this first full week of December are not promising, but overnight temperatures will stay below freezing.
Here is a link to the Minnesota DNR guide on ice depth.
