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!

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 1/10/25

Ben was on the ice this morning (1/10/25) to get an update. He found thicknesses ranging from 14.5 to 15.5 inches. Those of you with vehicles up to 1-ton, gas or diesel can now use the access. If you’re bringing a fish house with you, we are still allowing single-axle houses with ½ ton pick-ups only. If you have a tandem-axle fish house, you can only use the access if you’re bringing it out with a dolly and ATV or Side-by-Side and chains.

We expect an active day on the lake on Saturday with many anglers bringing houses out and a couple of events going on. Please keep speeds slow if you drive on the ice! The Waconia High School Conservation Club will be in Waconia Bay with a large group in the afternoon. There is also a fishing contest put on by the Future Flames Committee of First Lutheran Church of Glencoe. We are NOT the access point for this event. Here is a link to their info page… https://www.zeffy.com/.../2025-first-annual-lake-waconia...
Before driving out on the ice, if you have not been keeping up with our reports this season, either re-read our previous posts from this winter or stop in to talk with us about areas to avoid going.

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 - 1/8/25

Ben was on the ice today (1/8/25) for another ice check. Most of the holes drilled today were between 14 to 14.5 inches. He did measure a few holes with as little as 13.5 inches, but also had several with as much as 15 inches.

With that news, we are now allowing those of you with vehicles up to ½ ton pick-ups pulling single-axle fish houses through our access.

Also, we are now allowing ¾ & 1-Ton gas trucks without fish houses or enclosed trailers. Diesel trucks are still not allowed. For those with tandems, we are still waiting for more ice to pull them with trucks but will allow smaller tandems if you use an ATV or side-by-side with chains and a dolly to get them out.

Before driving out on the ice, if you have not been keeping up with our reports this season, either re-read our previous posts from this winter or stop in to talk with us about areas to avoid going.

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 - 1/7/25

We drilled about 80 holes today for another ice check. Between the marina and Center Reef we were finding 13.5 - 14 inches of beautiful ice. Currently we are still only allowing ½ tons trucks or smaller to use our access. We really want 14 inch minimums of general thickness before we open the access to vehicles WITH single axle houses. Hopefully with one more night of good cold tonight we will be at 14” minimums tomorrow. We will cross our fingers and check tomorrow morning. We will post that update right away.

Over by the East side of the island we checked on the bird hole that was open water for so long. The spot that was last to freeze has 10 inches of clear ice on it now. The crack/ridge that ran from that area to the beach is looking decent and can be crossed pretty easily if you look ahead and use caution.

We also checked on some of the major springs and some of them remain bubbling and open even through this cold stretch.

The videos posted show the bird hole and one of the active bubbling springs east of Cemetery Reef. Regarding the spring in the video, it is NOT marked on Navionics for everyone to see publicly. It is consistently the most active, but was missed by whoever added all the springs into Navionics. The coordinates for that spring are… 44 degrees 51.586’ N and 93 degrees 46.474’ W

There is also another spring that isn’t currently active, but is typically one of the major bubblers most winters that is also NOT marked on Navionics for all to see. Those coordinates are… 44 degrees 51.673’ N and 93 degrees 46.262’ W

If anyone knows how to make those 2 springs public for all to see on Navionics, just like all the others marked on there, that would be greatly appreciated.

Before driving out on the ice, if you have not been keeping up with our reports this season, either re-read our previous posts from this winter or stop in to talk with us about areas to avoid going.

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 - 1/5/25

We drilled about 50 holes today (1/5/24) for another quick ice update. On our check we headed out toward Center Reef, turned toward Harm’s point and then back to the Marina. 12.5 to 13 inches was most of what we measured. The ice is “leveling out” and getting more consistent in thickness.

We opened our access to cars and trucks up to ½ ton pick-ups to use our access. We will NOT be allowing cars and trucks to tow houses behind them yet. ATV's and Side by Sides for pulling single axle houses is allowed for now.

Before driving out on the ice, if you have not been keeping up with our reports this season, either re-read our previous posts from this winter or stop in to talk with us about areas to avoid going.

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.

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 1/4/25

Happy Saturday! The ice growth continues during this good cold stretch. Today (1/4/25), Ben drilled a bunch of holes and found ice thicknesses ranging between 11.5 to 12.5 inches. So, from yesterday to today we gained about an inch of ice! Excellent news! For today, we will still only be allowing ATV’s and Side-by-Sides with single-axle wheelhouses through our access.

Knowing we’ll make even more ice overnight, tomorrow (1/5/25) we will be allowing cars and trucks up to ½ ton pick-ups to use our access. We will NOT be allowing cars and trucks to tow houses behind them yet.

Before driving out on the ice, if you have not been keeping up with our reports this season, either re-read our previous posts from this winter or stop in to talk with us about areas to avoid going.

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.

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 1/3/25

Happy Friday! Avery was on the ice yesterday and Ben joined him today for some ice thickness checking. This cold is helping build ice back. Yesterday Avery found between 10 to 11 inches of ice. Today they found 10.5 to 11.5 inches with a lot of it around 11.

Since the ice thicknesses are growing, we are now allowing ATV’s and Side-by-Sides with Single Axle fish houses. No Tandems yet. We are NOT allowing cars or trucks to use the access yet either. We’ll let you know when we have enough ice for that.

 Quick reminder, as we've mentioned before, we no longer sell fishing licenses or fish house licenses. 

We’ll see you on the ice!