In Towne Marina Lake and Ice Report 2/14/25

Happy Valentines Day! We are loving conditions on Lake Waconia! Ice is over 20 inches in most areas and growing. Getting around off-road has been easy since last weeks minimal snow (enough to lightly bank your house). If the weather predictions are correct we will have another couple inches of banking snow for Saturday morning 2/15. If needed we will clean up our roads late tonight or early tomorrow morning 2/15

Our roads currently head to 

• Waconia Bay
• Center Reef
• Pillsbury Reef
• Wagener’s Bay deep hole
• The Walleye Hump/Hole
• Cemetery Reef

After Friday's snow, getting around off road should still be pretty easy with most vehicles. Keep you eyes peeled for marked springs, branches in old "Spear Holes" and hard snow banks from old fish house spots.

See you on the ice!

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 2/5/25

 Snow! It looks like we have a couple chances for some snow this week and weekend! We have all wanted banking snow for a while and it’s looking promising. If we get some white stuff tonight Wednesday 2/5 and a lot of wind (40 mph gusts predicted) on Thursday 2/6 we won’t be plowing much until Friday 2/7. 

Saturday 2/8 looks like our best chance for significant snow so far this season. If you have a fish house off on your own away from the crowd, make sure you have a capable vehicle as getting around on the lake is going to get more difficult soon.

By the end of Sunday 2/9 we plan to have roads to the following areas. 

• Waconia Bay
• Center Reef
• Pillsbury Reef
• Wagener’s Bay deep hole
• The Walleye Hump/Hole
• Cemetery Reef

If a road is needed up on the North side of the lake we will work on that next week.

We will update you as predictions and conditions change on Lake Waconia

See you on the ice.

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 1/30/25

Happy Thursday! Many of you have asked us about this week’s warm-up and the impact to the Lake Waconia’s ice. To preface, while ice is never safe, conditions currently remain very good! For us, it’s business as usual and our access remains open. We still have 20 plus inches of ice in most areas. While it is never ideal to have temps in the upper 40’s with sunshine glaring on the ice, a couple of things are working in our favor to minimize the impact of this weather. The lack of snow helps. While there will be some surface ice melting, since the winds are light (today/tonight) and there isn’t much water on the ice, there should be little issue with water swirling in holes etc. Also, thankfully temps are forecasted to drop into the 20’s each night during this warm stretch.

While it is important to check on your house if you have one on the lake, we are not pushing the panic button. Look over our previous reports to see the areas to avoid on the lake, specifically the pressure ridge on the NE side of the lake and spring activity. We will update if we see any changes to the conditions of the ice.

We’ll see you on the lake.

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 1/23/25

Avery was on the ice today (1/23/25) drilling a bunch of holes to get updated thicknesses and look at changes to the ice since the deep freeze. Lake-wide he was measuring ice between 18 to 22 inches, with a lot of it around 20 inches thick. The old goose/swan hole east of the island that was open a few weeks into the ice season is now between 16 to 18 inches thick. Since things have thickened to this point, we are now allowing all tandem houses to use our access.

As for what to avoid, many of you already know to stay away from the pressure ridge on the northeast side of the lake that extends along the east shoreline towards Reinke’s Bay. That ridge has gotten much bigger and as the video shows, there is a lot of standing water on the edges of it. The County Road 92 access has a very large heave and is now impassable. The access at the County Park is heaved as well (see pic below), with a deep drift and is very difficult to use unless you have high clearance on your vehicle. Look it over before trying to cross it. We haven’t noticed any changes with the springs on the lake other than what we have marked earlier in the winter. Avoid any of those areas that are marked with lath board and flagging tape.

Access fees per day are $2 to walk on (per person 16 years and older) and $5 to drive on (ATVs, Side-by-Sides, Snowmobiles, Cars and Trucks). A Winter Access Season Pass is $40.

We still have availability if you’re looking to rent a fish house! Saturdays are filling fast, but Sundays we have some room to book. They are set up about a mile out near Center Reef. If you’d like to set up a reservation, give us a call at (952) 442-2096.

We’ll see you on the ice!

 

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 1/16/25

 Avery drilled 60 holes during his ice check yesterday, 1/15/25. He was finding 15.5 to 17.5 inches of ice with much of it being 16 to 17 inches where he checked.  Starting Saturday, 1/18/25, we will be allowing access to small tandems with ¾ ton and 1-ton trucks. No huge houses yet. 

Access fees per day are $2 to walk on (per person 16 years and older) and $5 to drive on (ATVs, Side-by-Sides, Snowmobiles, Cars and Trucks). A Winter Access Season Pass is $40.

We are now currently renting fish houses! They are set up about a mile out near Center Reef and we are driving ½ ton trucks and cars to them. If you’d like to set up a reservation, give us a call at (952) 442-2096.

We’ll see you on the ice!

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 1/13/25

 

Last evening (1/12/25) a car partially broke through the ice on the Northeast side of Lake Waconia Near Reinke’s Reef. The car had its problem on the north end of a pressure ridge. The pressure ridge runs near the public access by County Road 155 and heads along The Clay Banks towards Reinke’s Bay and Reef. Extreme caution should be used if using the ice around that far Northeast part of Lake Waconia.

The person/people made it out of the vehicle fine. From what we understand, the car did NOT break all the way through the ice and did NOT sink to the bottom. The Vehicle was pulled out of where it partially broke through last night and is not on the lake anymore. The coordinates of where the car broke through are 44°52.835’N  and  93°46.188’W. 

This news helps remind us that ice is never 100 percent safe. Much of Lake Waconia’s ice remains around 15 inches and in great shape. Use caution when headed out to less traveled areas. Never cross pressure ridges without thoroughly checking where you cross. Avoid marked springs by using Navionics or look for flagging tape where we have marked potentially bad areas when possible. 

Be Safe and We will see you on the ice!

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 1/12/25

Happy Sunday! With the little bit of snow last night and the wind today, some of the beaten paths have accumulated snow. Ben plowed out to Waconia Bay, but not past the bay yet as the wind on the main lake would fill in any new road with blowing snow. Once you get past Waconia Bay, if you’re driving a vehicle, it’s easiest to go off the beaten path as there is less drifting there. When the winds settle (likely Monday), Ben will begin plowing our usual lake roads past Waconia Bay. General ice thickness remains between 14.5 to 15.5 inches.

We’ll see you on the ice!