Best of the Season: Winter Activities in Minnesota

Winter activities: they’re not for the faint of heart. Let’s be honest for a minute - we live in Minnesota - yes, the initial shock of winter takes some getting used to, but we aren’t going to spend almost half of the year indoors! Check out some of the best outdoor activities Minnesota has to offer this winter:

Served on the Rocks at an Ice Bar

What better way to enjoy a nice cold beer than by sitting on a big hunk of ice? Minnesota features ice bars across the state. The SocialICE in Rochester has icy signature drinks, twelve-foot artistic designed ice bars, an ice sculpture garden, and more. Make sure you take a trip to Rochester February 18th, 19th, and 20th for food, music, and a fabulous ice bar.

Ice Sculptures

Minnesotans pride themselves on their talent on the ice, off the ice, and with the ice. One of the state’s most time-honored traditions involves creative ice sculptures displays across the state. Eden Prairie has a beautiful and dazzling display of Ice Castles, which opened January 23rd and run through the end of February. The Ice Castles display is an excellent place to take a date or to set out on a family excursion.

Challenge Yourself

With extreme temperatures, there are bound to be extreme winter activities and challenges. Take Minnesota’s all-season sport of fishing out onto the ice this year. There are ice fishing contests and competitions across the state. Look for a location near you with the MNDNR. For the adrenaline junkies, the Minnesota Polar Bear Plunge is an excellent way of raising money for Special Olympics Minnesota athletes. There are plenty of locations and dates across the state that you can participate in for an extreme rush and good cause.

The Classics

With so many events to enjoy, make sure not to forget the classic winter activities. Go skiing and snowboarding at Powder Ridge, Lutsen Mountains, or Blackjack and Indianhead Mountain. Engage with the serenity of winter forests by snowshoeing with friends on a nighttime trail. Embrace your inner kid by grabbing a sled or snow tube and racing down a snow-covered hill. Try and see how many lakes you can go ice skating around. Minneapolis alone has two indoor rinks and 47 outdoor rinks to offer.

For more winter activity ideas, visit the DNR Winter Activities Guide. Embrace all that Minnesota has to offer and aim to fill this winter with exciting experiences and heart-warming memories.

The Top Ice Fishing Lakes in Minnesota

The infamous Minnesota winter is enough to scare people away and keep them inside during the winter months, but not for the avid ice fishing enthusiast who bare the weather in search of the perfect walleye and northern pike. With well over 10,000 lakes, it is no wonder why ice fishing is one of Minnesota’s biggest winter activities. The question is what are the best lakes to go ice fishing in the winter?

Upper Red Lake

Stretching over 288,000 acres, Red Lake is made up of the “Upper” and “Lower” region which is located in Northern Minnesota’s Beltrami County. If you are in search of world class caliber walleye, Upper Red Lake is the place to go. With plenty of access points spread out on the eastern shore, this lake is known for its walleye, northern pike, and crappie.

Lake Mille Lacs

Located north of St. Paul, Lake Mill Lacs spans more than 132,000 acres and stretches across Mill Lacs, Aitkin and Crow Wing counties to be recorded as the second largest lake in the state. The lake is known for their walleye, rock bass, northern pike, jumbo perch, muskie, smallmouth bass, and tullibee. Mill Lacs offers plenty of access along their 74-mile shoreline and has become a popular tourist destination offering plenty of fishing resorts and tour companies in the area.

Lake Vermilion

Lake Vermilion is 40,500 acres of beautiful scenery and has become a famous tourist destination known for its muskie, northern pike, crappie, perch, smallmouth bass, and bluegill. Visit lakevermilion.com for information on peak activity and the best ice fishing hours for each of the winter months.

Gull Lake

The host of North America’s largest ice fishing event - the Ice Fishing Extravaganza - Gull Lake is 9,418 acres and is the most popular fishing lake in the Brainerd Lake Region. Gull is host to the largest walleye, northern pike, and bluegill, as well as largemouth bass, rock bass and crappie population and offers access to ice fishing tour guides, ice house rentals, and ice fishing equipment.

Lake of the Woods

Named one of the most scenic lakes in the country by Minnesota Lakes website, Lake of the woods has over 14,000 islands and stretches over 950,000 acres through Minnesota, Ontario, and Manitoba. Lake of the Woods has over 45 resorts that offer all-inclusive ice fishing tours and specialize in walleye, northern pike, sauger, muskie, rock bass, largemouth bass, lake trout and sturgeon.

Minnesota Ice Fishing: Conditions and Tips

Winter in Minnesota can mean many things: blizzards, snowman building, puffy coats and woolen underwear. To many people all around the state, it also means fishing -- ice fishing, to be exact.

The act of ice fishing is simple -- drill a hole in the ice, stick your hook and bobber through, and wait for the fish to come biting-- but the art of it is an entirely different story that requires some patience, supplies, and good luck.

Ice fishing, along with many other winter activities involving ice, is encouraged only during safe conditions. According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, ice must be at least 4 inches before any activity may take place on it. This specification has so far caused a bit of a rough go for some fisherman this season. Many lakes, such as Leech Lake in Cass County, have broken their surfaces under the weight of heavy vehicles.

Other lakes, such as Hanson Lake in Becker County and Blacksmith, Blue, Crappie and Newman lakes in Hubbard County, are lakes formed by pits that used to be used in mining. Since sinking, they have become filled with water, becoming new habitats for fish. Annually, they are stocked with trout, making them popular for anglers looking to snag a few fresh fish. However, fisherman are encouraged to use caution when using them. “[These lakes] are much deeper and take longer to cool down in the fall than natural lakes,” says Al Stevens, fisheries program consultant with the DNR. “As a result, the ice is usually thinner than on other lakes.”

However, most of the other 10,000+ lakes have safe enough conditions to fish. Hidden Valley Pond in Cottage Grove, MN, recently held a first-time fisher’s outing. The event was attended by Jim Levitt, a fisheries specialist with the DNR, who noted that ice fishing was “a great opportunity to really get that true Minnesota experience.” Many towns situated on lakes or deep ponds are introducing the idea of ice fishing to their residents, hoping to teach the proper safety precautions while also establishing a fun activity for families.

Fish Tales, a Minnesota Fishing Report published by Outdoors Weekly, notes that depending on the area fishermen are interested in, good catches are abound. Walleyes and panfish, such as bluegills and crappies, are the most popular species to catch during a Minnesota winter. In other areas, sauger, perch, pike, crappie, and trout are all available.

When trying to catch the perfect fish, the depth of the water you are fishing in is important, says the DNR. Bluegills and northerns prefer shallow water; walleyes often stay in deeper water. The time of day also plays a factor: bluegills and sunfish gather in schools and can be caught during the daytime, while crappies and walleyes bite best just before sundown. If you aren’t picky, northerns and trout are hungry throughout the day, just like muskies and bass.

The best place to go for all of your ice fishing needs is the Minnesota DNR’s website, which contains fishing reports, specifications, and regulations for all those interested. The ice fishing season will conclude in March/April, but fishing goes year round, as ice melts and lakes open up to warmer weather. For a closer look at the seasons, check this list.