Avery was on the ice today, 1/18/24 to get another update. Since our last report on Monday, ice conditions have continued to improve with the deep freeze this week. He once again checked more in Waconia Bay as well as out from the Wagener’s Bay access, to Pillsbury Reef, into the deep hole and back to the Wagener’s access
Ice thicknesses still vary everywhere you go. It is common to find 8 to 11 inches of ice where there is little-to-no snow. You can still somewhat easily find 5-to-8 inches of ice under snow drifts. The heavier the snow drifts, generally the lesser the ice. You may also find occasional ice that is up to 12 inches that has frozen slush included as part of the thickness. It’s easy to get excited when the ice thickness numbers get into the double digits, but we are still exercising caution as there is enough of the 5-to-7 inch ice scattered everywhere. While checking, he stopped and marked an active spring heading west from the Wagener’s access (44 degrees 51.644’ N, 93 degrees 48.121’ W).With the ice thicknesses we found, we are opening up our access for Side-by-Sides, 4-wheelers and snowmobile use. We are not allowing wheel houses or cargo trailers at this time. Also, we are not allowing parking on our ice frontage. Due to limited parking here, if you are unloading your machine, you may have to park your vehicle and trailer on the street as long as it’s not there after midnight. As a reminder, due to the late start, our Winter Season Access Pass is discounted to $25 this season. Otherwise, daily fees are $2 to walk on each day. The daily rate for ATV’s, snowmobiles and cars/trucks (when allowed) is $3 Monday through Thursday and $5 per day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
We’ll see you on the ice!
