Two months ago, Breezes asked Minnetonka students to take their best guess at what day the ice out would occur on Lake Minnetonka, and there were some interesting results. As a refresher, a lake’s “ice out” refers to the date when there is no ice left or when the lake is navigable by boat without frozen obstacles.

One person guessed the correct date of March 29, 2025, which was officially declared by the Freshwater Society and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office Water Patrol after a thorough look at the water.

Other responses were closer to Lake Minnetonka’s median ice out date of April 10, which is the day that marks half of the historical dates coming before and half coming after. Most responses included other dates in April, which correlates to what history has seen for the lake as the most common ice out month.

One respondent noted May 20, 2050 as their guess, saying “this winter will never end.” Well, thankfully we won’t have to wait that long for a change of seasons. With the ice now gone from Lake Minnetonka, the beginning of spring has arrived and winter has finally come to a close.