The North Side of Mille Lacs is Almost Ready for Vehicle Traffic
The Red Door Resort access continues to be open to walk-out, snowmobile, ATV and Side by Side traffic through the New Year’s Weekend. Ice conditions are close to being ready for vehicle, and vehicle and wheelhouse traffic, and drive outs should be possible by the weekend of January 6th.
Warm Weather, Fish House Rentals and On-Shore Lodging Options
The weather will be warmer through the weekend with sustained wind speeds mostly under 10 mph and gust under 20 mph. Though the combined forecast isn’t great for building more ice, it will be very pleasant for fishing out on the lake. If you would like to bring in the New Year out on Mille Lacs, The Red Door Resort still has wheelhouse and 4-person skid house rentals available for the coming weekend. And if you want to stay on-shore, remember that The Red Door Resort has 11 awesome cabins and a 10 unit motel. Click “Book Now” above to make a reservation.
Ice Depths, Access Condition and Slush / Snow
The Ice Team was out drilling holes earlier this week and found average ice depths generally ranging from 11″ to 15″. There were a couple areas of 10″ ice and a couple of 16″ holes. Ice consistency for the 10″ to 12″ holes was usually pure black and solid; the 14″ to 16″ depths usually had 2″ to 3″ of white ice at the surface.
The Red Door Resort’s access no longer has any standing water or slush. The ice is stable with one bridged crack relatively close to shore. After hours of clearing with the skid steer, the access is widened out and all the stacked-up shale ice has been either removed or pushed to the side.
The Ice Team is glad to report very limited amounts of slush and no standing water on the main lake. Despite receiving in excess of 15″ of snow over the last two weeks, the precipitation has really compacted, making lake travel relatively easy. The first and second break has slightly more snow and drifts than the mudflats. Across the board, the Ice Team is happy that the snow shouldn’t provide too much insulation in the short term.
Establishing Ice Roads for the Season
Yesterday (Tuesday) the Ice Team had plow trucks on the lake for the first time. The main trunk road was plowed to an ~80′ width and carried it 1/2 mile off shore to just south of where the the second break road will be put in. The East / West first break road was also roughed in. With the warmer weather today (Wednesday), the Ice Team halted work and the plan is to resume road expansion starting again tomorrow morning.
Weather Outlook
The 7-day weather outlook is warm with consistent highs at or above 30 degrees and lows in the high teens. If the forecast holds, the Ice Team will be looking forward to temperatures plummeting toward zero next Wednesday, January 4th. As previously mentioned wind speeds are expected to be on the calmer side with sustained winds mostly under 10 mph and gust under 20 mph.
The Ice Season is nearly fully underway and all of us at The Red Door Resort look forward to seeing you on the northside of Mille Lacs Lake during the hard water season. Happy New Year!
