Algonquin Adventures / So when does the ice-out prediction conversation start???

**Posted by ATVenture** 3/23/2017 7:28 am

Coureur des Biere wrote:
SOOOOOOOOO excited to see this thread starting! lol my favourite/most hated time of the year: watching paint dry...I mean ice melt on government satellite images.

I feel like the lack of snow on the lakes is a good sign as we don't need the wind/rain to melt/blow it away before the sun can do its work and warm the water up. Also, the long range forecast (which in my mind is an oxymoron but I digress haha) looks a lot nicer then last year so the gut feeling is a decent mid/3rd week of April ice out.

Does anyone know of any ice depth measurements out there yet?

Cheers!

I've been tempted to punch some holes in a few of the northern lakes in the park, but I'm not sure if I'm aloud to use my gas auger to do it? I also have an 8" hand auger with a drill bit attachment but I'm not sure that one will reach the water without buying another extension.

**Posted by Marko_Mrko** 3/23/2017 7:32 am

Just came back from the Kawartha Highlands - ice was about 18" thick. But no snow cover at all, this could melt very quickly.
M

Last edited by Marko_Mrko (3/23/2017 7:34 am)

**Posted by DanPM** 3/23/2017 7:35 am

ATVenture wrote:
I'm not sure if I'm aloud to use my gas auger to do it?

That's actually a really good question, as a policy nerd I'm curious if there's any rule on the books about gas-powered ice augers in the park. For people like you curious about ice thickness, or for the rare occasion that fishable ice extends outside the sanctuary season. My guess is that there's no rule against it, and it would be odd for anyone to complain if you were doing it on a lake that allows motorboats, but I'll see what I can dig up. Of course if you really wanted to play it safe you could test a lake just outside the park.

http://www.youtube.com/user/kayakcamper · **Posted by Uppa** 3/26/2017 3:36 pm

Was anyone in the park this weekend? Pics, opinions?

Feed me!

**Posted by DanPM** 3/27/2017 7:31 am

Just to loop back to ATVenture's question about gas augers, here's the only rule about them I was able to find, from Section 21(2) of Ontario Regulation 347/07:
"From April 1 to Thanksgiving, no person shall possess a chain saw, power saw, power ice auger, gasoline generator or similar device in an area operated for interior camping in Algonquin Provincial Park."

So basically, if it's before April 1, go for it. If after, you'd have to contend with the esoteric question of what an "area operated for interior camping" means... is that an interior campsite? A lake on which there are interior campsites? Any place not within a campground, day-use facility or road right-of-way? Strangely it's not in the definitions section of the regulation, though several similar terms are.

Last edited by DanPM (3/27/2017 7:32 am)

**Posted by yellowcanoe** 3/29/2017 4:16 pm

Bill Swift reports 24" of ice on Source Lake. The first 28 days of March here in Ottawa were colder on average than February!

**Posted by Tripper** 3/30/2017 3:36 pm

I was in the Park yesterday (29th) and it still looks very winter like there. Snow was up to knees in some spots and things are still locked in except where there is a good flow. The Oxtongue was wide open below Tea Lake Dam as far as you could see. Tea Lake was open about 200m above the dam. Smoke Creek was open and out into Tea Lake a bit. Lake of Two Rivers was tight to all shores except where the Madawaska empties out of the Lake. Costello Creek was solid except for the section past the picnic area.

Smoke Creek entering Tea Lake.

Two Rivers from airfield.

East Beach boat launch.

Madawaska from East Beach boat launch.

Looking westward down LTR from East Beach.

**Posted by Marko_Mrko** 4/01/2017 9:13 am

Hi all,

We were in Peterborough last week, drove up to Kingscote Lake yesterday. Ice is well out of the shore, probably only 50% of the lake is covered.

Looks really good, I'd say it's a good chance for ice out next week, if only in the south part of the park.

Almost there!
Marko

**Posted by ATVenture** 4/01/2017 3:14 pm

I say 75% of the park will be ice free by Monday April 10th, and Opeongo will be out on the 15th.
Last year the highest temperature for the first two weeks of April was 2 degrees and the lowest was -19.

**Posted by RobW** 4/02/2017 9:38 am

We were up at the cottage yesterday and measured 18' of good clear ice. That's more than we had all winter. I'm expecting the lake to still be safe to walk on next weekend and it's iffy whether or not the ice will be out for Easter weekend. Algonquin usually holds out at least another week beyond our lake.

**Posted by Tripper** 4/02/2017 5:28 pm

I was in the Park today. Things are still very winter like. All lakes are socked in. Costello Creek by second bridge has a couple of small open spots and the ice is just pulling away a bit by the beach at LTR Campground. Other than that all lakes are still tight to the shore. Not even the small lakes and ponds show signs of opening up.

South bay of Opeongo.

Opeongo.

**Posted by Coureur des Biere** 4/04/2017 3:00 pm

So looks like there's still 20" of Ice on Opeongo and 24" on Source Lake (as of March 29).

That still seems better then the last few years when the ice has gone out on May 1st ish and temps don't look to be going too far down below zero at night for the foreseeable future.

So heres to hoping we don't have any ridiculousness (I'm not holding my breath) from the park this year and that the ice is out by the opener...or atleast my schedule departure date of April 28th

Cheers!

**Posted by RobW** 4/04/2017 4:13 pm

Well I just booked the 24th and 25th off to make it a 4 day weekend.

But there is always a backup plan. ;-)

**Posted by ATVenture** 4/05/2017 12:59 pm

Get your canoes ready! All of the small ponds are starting to open up here, 90% of ice is no longer tight to shore. I spent the morning at Kioshkokwi and you can no longer walk out onto the ice in most places, my dog tried to get onto the ice but kept breaking through at shore, some places are open water a few feet out from shore, some places are tight but dark black. The beginning of next week brings highs of 15 and lows of 6 followed by warm and sunny days.. Not a doubt in my mid I WILL be canoeing in A.P.P. on Easter Weekend.. I'm 95% sure of it!
I was on Highway 60 on Monday and for whatever reason everything is allot slower down there then up here, I think ice will be out at Kiosk before the lakes on Highway 60 for sure.

Last edited by ATVenture (4/05/2017 1:03 pm)

**Posted by RobW** 4/05/2017 1:18 pm

Thanks for the update AT.

Not to be a pessimist but looking at the satellite images from Sunday, the Petawawa isn't even open yet and there is no sign of open water on Nipissing either. Based on those benchmarks I would normally say that we were at least a couple of weeks away from the lakes opening up in Algonquin. I'm less sure how that compares to what you are seeing in person. It used to be that we would only get in person updates from along Hwy 60 and they were usually telling us all to calm down and that the black we were seeing the satellite photos wasn't actually open water like we were all hoping. ;-)

https://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/modis/modis.php?region=g&page=1&template=sub&image=a1.17092.1812.CIS_Great_Lakes.143.250m.jpg

**Posted by Tripper** 4/05/2017 7:43 pm

I was in the Park today along Highway 60. Things are still pretty tight to shore everywhere. LTR is starting come away from the beach at the campground. All small ponds and lakes, like Mew, are still ice covered. Costello Creek up by the second bridge is starting to open up a bit.

**Posted by DanPM** 4/05/2017 9:55 pm

For what it's worth, the FOAP website has started it's ice-out page for this year. http://www.algonquinpark.on.ca/news/ice-out.php The tone seems very expectation-management-oriented.