The Magic of Ice Out

The break up of Rainy Lakes ice is one of the most awaited times of the year for the local residents. Ice out has occurred at the earliest April 14 and the latest May 18th. Rainy Lake is considered ice free when you can travel by boat from Ranier to the docks at the Kettle Falls Hotel.

Rainy Lake is the sixtieth largest lake in the world. Ice out is a long slow process that lasts over a month and frankly is one of the most fascinating events that happens in our natural world. The return of the seagulls to Ranier and the bald eagles to the bare ice pack in search of carrion signals the start of the process.

The first areas to open on Rainy Lake are related to current. The Rainy Lake basin (all of the rivers and lakes that flow toRainy Lake) is one of the largest in the world. All of the water north of the Laurentian Divide (most of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Quetico Provincial Park, and a wide area extending north and east of Atikokan, Ontario) flows through Rainy Lake. At each flowage the lake begins to open in late March or early April. The openings become larger with the warmer and longer days.

The lake snow pack plays a large part in the deterioration of the ice. Warm weather causes the snow to melt and it drains through blow holes or it is absorbed by the ice starting the process called honeycombing. Warm spring rains and warm sunny days do the same thing once the snow pack has melted. Often the blow holes act as a large drain where you can actually hear the water whirlpooling down the holes. The marshy type bays open fast; they usually have warm running creeks and the heat of the bogs to hurry them along. Waterfowl arrive by the thousands as soon as these bays begin to open, they don’t stay long as their instincts draw them to the next open waters to the north.

Sun is the largest contributor to the ice breakup. Rainy Lake has over 1200 islands and more shoreline than Lake Superior. The shoreline is made up of basalt and granite, dark in color. The sun warms the rock islands and shoreline storing the heat, in turn creating open water around the islands and shores getting the direct sun. Each passing day the ring of open water gets larger around the islands, pretty soon the areas are large enough and wind makes the open areas larger.

Cracks occur in the main lake and wind starts to shift the large pieces of ice. Once this begins the ice starts to make its own music, the sound is kind of hard to explain; kind of like different xylophones, a soft tickling, twinkling beautiful sound. The sound comes from the honeycombed ice turning into broken chards who clash together making the soft sounds and music. The ice just does not melt and go away. The honeycombed ice breaks apart in six to eight inch thick clumps.

The remnants of ice out often make for some of the most picturesque scenes ever seen on Rainy Lake. If a big wind causes the ice to break up fast you will see small rock islands completely covered with crystal clear ice and other times the ice is like “Willow the Wisp” here today and gone tomorrow.
Rainy Lake seasons are kind of like a four act play. We get to see and experience them all. Spring break up is the high point of the spring act. Our guests get to experience the last half of the spring act seeing the courtship by the eagles and loons, the greening of the habitat, and beaver’s busily gathering food after a long winter in their houses. We look forward to spring and seeing all of you soon.