No Ice Skating On This Eastern Iowa Pond… For Now

It's winter time in Iowa and if you've driven past any body of water, you've probably seen plenty of ice floating around. When my family went to north Iowa for Christmas near Clear Lake, I even saw some ice fishers.

Lakes and ponds freezing during the Iowa winter are normal and those frozen bodies of water are perfect for some outdoor fun. Ice hockey and skating are two activities many people enjoy on frozen ponds and lakes throughout Iowa but one pond in Eastern Iowa is still not letting ice skaters out for one simple reason: It's not safe.

Davenport Pond Not Ready For Ice Skaters

As much as a frozen looks safe enough to walk or skate on, you never know unless officials tell you it's safe or you measure the thickness yourself. Just recently, a 59-year-old man from Joice, IA died from an accidental drowning in Clear Lake.

Ice is no joke. The Iowa DNR recommends a minimum of 4 inches of clear ice measured in multiple spots for ice fishing, and 5 inches or more of clear ice to drive ATVs and snowmobiles on ice.

READ MORE: 4 Basic Ice Skating Tips For Your Illinois Winter Dates, From A Figure Skater

Right now, a lagoon in Davenport isn't even close to allowing residents to put on their ice skates to enjoy a favorite winter activity.

The Davenport Parks and Recreation says that the Vander Veer Botanical Park lagoon has yet to fully freeze over. Officials say that the lagoon will be safe for ice skating when the ice depth is at least 6 inches in all 5 of the measuring points in the lagoon and it has stayed consistently at 6 inches or more.

Davenport officials also say if you see water or geese, just know there is no ice skating, even if part of the lagoon is frozen. Just a few years ago, they had to beg people to stop feeding the ducks and geese so the water would freeze.

Right now, the ground temperature in Iowa is in the low 20s. Lows in Eastern Iowa have been in the mid-teens and highs have been in the mid-20s. This is all cold enough weather to get the Vander Veer lagoon to freeze over but it takes some time.

There is hope that you'll be able to ice skate there this season but don't forget there are plenty of other places to check out in the Quad Cities.