Mendota Freeze Contest

Every winter, the Mendota Freeze Contest calls attention to the year-round importance of our lakes on our local quality of life. In our 15th annual contest, weather watchers and ice experts of all ages will be asked to guess the official ice-on date for Lake Mendota. People who guess the correct date will be entered to win a gift card to an area business.

The 2025-2026 Mendota Freeze Contest is CLOSED!

Contest entries were accepted through 11:59 p.m. Central Time on Monday, December 15th, 2025.

Only one guess per individual. Multiple entries will be automatically disqualified. Official rules and regulations can be found here.

Thank you for your interest in the Mendota Freeze Contest. This year's contest closed at 11:59 p.m. on December 15th. We hope you'll join us again next year to make your prediction about when Lake Mendota will freeze.