We open for the winter season starting tomorrow, Friday, 12/13/24 from 9 am to 5 pm! On Saturday and Sunday, we will be here from 8 am to 5 pm. Next Monday through Thursday we will be open from 9 am to 5 pm. We will announce any changes to our hours later next week.
Today, Ben and Avery did a thorough ice check on parts of Lake Waconia! They drilled and measured hundreds of holes from 9:30 to 3 pm. They first measured out front of the marina, found 6.5 to 8 inches of ice and determined it was best to cover more ground with an ATV and small side-by-side. In the following areas where we drilled, we found…
Waconia Bay: 6.5 to 8 inches
Between the Marinas by the “Walleye Hump”: 6 to 8 inches
Cemetery Reef: 7 to 8 inches
Between the Coney Island and Lakeview Terrace AKA “Under the Wires”: 6.5 to 8 inches
Center Reef: 7 to 8 inches
Pillsbury Reef: 7 to 8 inches
Wagener’s Bay Deep Hole: 7 to 8 inches
South Side of Wagener’s Bay: around 9 inches
Despite the extreme cold, it is important to say there is still a large area of water being kept open by birds east of Coney Island with thin ice around it as well. That area is UNMARKED due to its’ size. A pressure ridge extends from the east side of the island towards the beach itself on the SE side of the lake. If you intend to head east of the island or east of Cemetery Reef, use extreme caution.
Ben and Avery marked a few notable areas to avoid with lath board and flagging tape. Some of those marked areas are out from the access in Wagener’s Bay that are either marking active springs or lesser ice. There is also a marked spring near Pillsbury Reef. As for some of the larger springs we have talked about in past years, they were able to find and mark one of them east of Cemetery Reef. They could not mark all potential springs, so keep that in mind.
Overall, while our ice thickness findings today are excellent news, we cannot cover everything. Ice is never completely safe. We still caution everyone to check ahead your first time out before taking anything heavy onto the ice.
Our private access will be open for use starting tomorrow. To walk on through us is $2 every day. Using our access with ATV’s, snowmobiles (and eventually cars and trucks) is $5 every day. If you would like to buy a Winter Access Season Pass, those are $40. Knowing what we know, yes, we will be allowing ATV’s, Side-by-Sides through our access right away starting tomorrow. As for wheelhouses, we will not be allowing those yet but will update as soon as we do. As always, use our access at your own risk. We cannot guarantee parking on our lot. If there are no parking spaces available, overflow onto the street. Keep in mind, due to a City of Waconia Winter Ordinance, please do not stay parked on city streets after Midnight. Overnight parking on our lot is ONLY allowed with a Season Pass and with prior permission on the day of parking.
As many of you know from this past summer, we no longer sell fishing licenses, so when bringing out your fish house for the first time, purchase your Fishing or Fish House License ahead of time.
While we do not have our fish house rentals on the ice quite yet, they will be going out soon! We begin taking reservations at (952) 442-2096 tomorrow! Below is a link to our 2024/25 Fish House Rental Prices…
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UxHHzr7rX6HPs-n7OV1YW_Eilp940Wi5/view
