If you haven’t noticed, it’s been pretty cold outside for the past couple of weeks. With the cold weather brings a frozen Utah Lake. On December 5th, Todd Frye who runs the Bonneville School of Sailing and Seamanship, shot this video of the ice forming. Listen closely and you can hear the ice cracking as it forms, expands and contracts. It’s quite fascinating! If we continue to get sub-freezing temperatures, we’ll have a solid ice surface that will be suitable for all kinds of activities.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H68ZHp_m9G8&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]
This is about the normal time to see it freeze over. I’ve heard reports of the ice 3 inches thick in places on the north end. That’s safe enough for some fun recreational activities like ice fishing, and ice skating. But be cautious! Here are some tips that will keep you safe and help you to decided if it is safe to go out on the ice.
We’ve been asked if there is an online source to see how thick the ice is. Unfortunately, there isn’t. The closest thing we have is occasional posts from the Utah Lake State Park (whom I’ve requested to post ice thickness more regularly) on Facebook. Their last measurement was one inch thick in the harbor on December 6th. Also, because the lake is so large, the ice thickness often varies widely when the ice is forming. Just know that as long as these cold temperatures keep up, we’ll have a nice thick sheet of ice in no time, offering all sorts of fun and safe recreational activities throughout much of the winter!
Let us know what your favorite lake activity is during the winter in the comments below.
Ran across Utah Lake, from ULSP to Saratoga Springs, last year, for my first time. It was amazing. I can’t wait until I can do it, again. 🙂
Wouldn’t mind trying out ice skating, too.
very nice photo
I love to ice skate there