In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - UPDATE to our earlier report on 1/9/26

**Update to our earlier report today, 1/9/26…We ARE allowing cars and up to ½ ton pick-up trucks to use our access. This does NOT include hauling a house with your vehicle. We still want all houses to be brought out by ATVs or Side-by-Sides. We always stress doing your own checking before heading anywhere on the lake with a vehicle for the first time. Below is the ice thickness report.

So far Ben has focused his ice check along the weedline of Waconia Bay, to the walleye hump/hole and on the way towards Center Reef where a future road would be. With the recent melting of snow and rain, we did gain some ice on the surface once the standing water froze up, so some of the new numbers surprised us a bit. Keep in mind, these numbers are not all clear/black ice. He found the ice along the Waconia Bay weedline to be 12.5 to 15.5 inches of ice. By the walleye hump/hole, he was finding 12 to 15 inches (commonly 13 to 13.5), with rutted ice being common. On the way towards Center reef the ice gets rougher yet in spots with more frozen ruts and scattered old hard snow. Because of that old snow and ruts, he found as little as 11 inches, with occasional layering in isolated spots. Ben continued on to Center Reef, Pillsbury Reef and Wagener's Bay. The ice in those locations was between 12 to 15 inches, with the common ice again being around 13 to 13.5 inches. Center, Pillsbury and Wagener's Bay have plenty of rutted ice, so again, try to stay on more smooth ice if driving. It's especially rutted going from the Wagener's Bay access to Harm's Point.

**5 PM UPDATE

Ben went back out after lunch to cover more ice. First he checked on the way to and on top of Cemetery Reef and found 12 to 15 inches. He headed to the East side of the island and found 13 to 15 inches. Shooting west from there in front of the island 12 to 13 inches was common. From the West side of the Island and towards the East part of Center Reef it was more of the 12.5 to 15 inches where he drilled. Ben headed to the South side of Kegs Reef and then ran up the reef and drilled around North Reef and further. He then shot west towards Nelsons Flats and drilled several holes. In that stretch from Keg's to Nelson's he measured 12 to 15 inches of ice. From Nelson's Flats area he decided to double back and check out Red's Reef and more. He drilled on and around Red's, over towards the Clay Banks, and headed to Anderson's Reef, then "The Beach"  weed edge and then back to the marina. In that long stretch he drilled frequently and found 11.5 to 15 inches. 

13 to 13.5 inches was by far the most common thickness found today. Some layered ice remains under some of the biggest old hard snow drifts found all over the lake. Those drifts can be avoided pretty easily. Don't forget to look out for the springs marked publicly on Navionics or physically marked by us with lath boards and flagging tape around the lake. 

As usual always check ahead of yourself when heading off the beaten path. We can't check all the ice on the lake but as long as people don't push it too far we feel good about how things looked out there today.

The Lake is back to being very slippery again. Don't forget your ice cleats and whether driving or walking, take it SLOW.

We'll see you on the ice!

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 1/9/26

Things have firmed up nicely for this weekend. The access is in good shape. We are once again allowing those of you with side-by-sides to pull single-axle wheelhouses through our access. Ben and Avery have been on the ice this morning and we will report ice thicknesses in another post a little later with more info and if we are allowing additional use of the access.

In Towne Marina Access Update 1/6/26

 Our Access and Lake Waconia in general are pretty wet again. After the overnight rain and mild temperatures we are not allowing permanent fish houses on through our access. ATVs and Side by sides will be allowed for now. 

We will let you know when things firm up enough to be able to go out with more than just machines. 

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Fish House Rental Update - 1/3/25 - Our 7' x 14' Rentals are now on the ice and available!

In Towne Marina Rental Fish Houses are out on Lake Waconia! 

Avery just placed both of our 6 hole, 7x14 Rental Fish Houses out front in Waconia Bay. They will be within easy walking distance (200 yards or so) from our access (we are not driving cars and trucks on the ice yet). There are Sunfish, Northern Pike and a few Crappies in the area. Give us a call if you have the itch to get out!

Click Here for Prices & Policies

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report -1/3//26

Happy Saturday! After another cold night, our access has improved enough to allow single-axle wheelhouses to be pulled behind ATVs or side-by-sides. We are still not allowing cars or trucks through our access while it continues to heal. We are also not recommending truck traffic through any access on the lake, as ice thickness under the snow is commonly 10–11 inches. Ice where there is no snow is commonly 12 to 13 inches.

If you choose to pull a wheelhouse out through us, please go slow, as a portion of the access remains blocked off and is still healing. With mild weather forecasted for the coming week, ice thickness is expected to hold steady, so please don’t expect any significant changes in what we can allow in the near future.

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report -1/2//26

 Avery just got back from doing an ice check. He drilled more than 50 holes over several areas. He drilled around Waconia Bay, The Walleye hump/hole, South side of Cemetery Reef, South side of Coney Island, Under the Wires, Center Reef, Pillsbury Reef, Wagener's Bay. In the snow he was finding 10 to 11 inches of ice. Slush is still under the the deepest banks of snow. 12 inches of good ice is common where there is no or very little snow. Some areas had more than 12 inches of ice if you count frozen slush on top.

 As of today 1/2/26 we are still ONLY allowing walking, Snowmobiles,  ATVs and Side by Sides through our access. We are sad to say that the slush pocket on our frontage is not solid. We are still NOT allowing permanent houses on through our landing because of the spot that needs to heal directly in front of us. We will update you on any changes at our access ASAP!

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Access Update 1/2/26

 As of this morning 1/2/26 we are still ONLY allowing walking, Snowmobiles,  ATVs and Side by Sides through our access. We are sad to say that the slush pocket on our frontage is not solid. We are still NOT allowing permanent houses on through our landing because of the spot that needs to heal directly in front of us. We will update you on any changes ASAP!