During the winter, there are many activities that take place on the ice-covered lakes and the first thing that comes to mind for me is ice fishing, but many people ice skate, snowshoe, ride snowmobiles, ATV’s/UTVs, and even drive cars and trucks on the ice. Knowing the thickness of the ice should be the first thing people think of, but some do not. I don’t know the number of people that fell through the ice over the years, but one is too many. Having this winter being the warmest in modern history, ice thickness is a huge factor. I personally know of 1 snowmobile, 1 ATV and 3 UTVs that broke through the ice this winter (2 side by sides just last week) and while I don’t know the cost to retrieve these machines, I do know recovery crews charge $1000 just to show up.

Whatever the reason for traveling over frozen lakes, we should first know when that ice is safe. Obviously when the water surface drops below 32 degrees, ice forms and since ice takes up more space than water (making it denser than water below) ice starts to form. Then when the air gets colder the ice gets thicker. This process continues unless temperatures fluctuate, it rains, or if the ice gets covered with snow, this snow will insulate the ice and will slow the freezing process.

There will be some that say 3” is safe for one person to walk on, but I would disagree. Here is an ice safety gauge I agree with. 4″ is safe for one person or people walking single file, 6” to 7” is safe for snowmobiles or ATVs/UTVs, 8” to 12” is safe for a car or light truck and over 13” for a full-size truck. One thing I want to stress is ice thickness on lakes IS NOT UNIFORMED. Ice could be 10” thick in one area and because of underwater current around inlets/outlets from other lakes ice can be 2” to 3” in that location. So, i just found out the cost to remove the 2 side by sides that went into a lake two weeks ago. Ready for this one? $35,000. So, before you head out on the ice, ask people that are ice fishing or talk to local bait shops about the ice thickness of the lake you are going on. In my opinion, ICE UNDER 4 INCHES BELONGS IN AN ADULT BEVERAGE.