Little-Known Areas Of Danger To Look Out For On Wisconsin’s Frozen Lakes

For many, Wisconsin winters mean heading to the lake in search of a meal of fish or seeking out one of a number of other ice-bound activities.

When it comes to activities on Wisconsin's frozen lakes, ice fishing is the most obvious, but snowmobiling, ice skating, and cross-country skiing are among the list of other reasons you might head out onto a frozen body of water in the winter.

Every year, we hear the reminders that no ice should ever be assumed to be safe ice. It is good advice that many people heed, but some forget.

Ice conditions and ice thickness can and do change, sometimes pretty rapidly. A lot of people think that, at a minimum, it could take days for a patch of ice to deteriorate to unsafe levels. The reality is that it can happen a lot quicker than that.

READ MORE: Where In Wisconsin Have The Most Record-Setting Big Fish Been Caught?

While some ice dangers are pretty obvious, there are certain hidden dangers on (or in) lakes or other frozen bodies of water you might not have considered, often because you might not even be able to see these risks from the surface.

While the best way to verify it is good, clear ice and to check the thickness of said ice, there are some other signs to look for that could identify potentially dangerous ice. There are also places on bodies of water you might not know about that are more likely to see rapid or unpredictable ice deterioration.

Here's a look at some of those lesser-known danger spots and signs so you can be aware of them the next time you head out onto one of Wisconsin's lakes during the winter.

If your reason for heading out on the lake during the winter is to ice fish, here are some other super valuable tips that might seem like common sense, but some people seem not to know (or have forgotten).