[jm31828]

The wife and I went for a hike in Deception Pass State Park on Sunday. When we came into the park from the north on highway 20 to that lake on the west side right at Rosario Road (can't remember the name) we saw dozens and dozens of people walking on the frozen lake, far out to the middle. They had kids with them, even babies in a couple of instances. What are these people thinking?? This is western Washington, not Minnesota. That ice may have been BARELY thick enough to hold the weight but BARELY is the term- we were so afraid that when we come back by after our hike we'd see emergency vehicles there with one or more people having fallen through- but fortunately that did not seem to be the case since people were still out there walking around a couple hours later when we left. It surprises me that the park didn't have signs posted saying the ice is unsafe, or even rangers occasionally swinging by to yell at people to get off the ice.

[cascadeclimber]

The ice was four inches thick on Lake Lucerne in Maple Valley. That's more than enough to support a car. How are you so certain that it wasn't safe? Do you know that these people didn't drill a test hole to assess safety?

[jm31828]

Ah, I didn't know it could have been that thick. I just knew it's rare to get any ice on a lake around here and local meteorologists have been pleading for people to stay off the ice because it is too thin to safely support the weight.

[flatsqwerl]

the ice is 4 inches thick on lake Wapato in Tacoma..a few melt holes in the middle where the birds hang out. Thats the thickest I've seen it in several years..now its covered with a bunch of large rocks as people try to break it, mostly to no avail.

[SKS]

I agree with your concern about safety on the lakes in the area. The majority of the people who were out on the ice had no good idea how thick the ice was or how thick it had to be to be safe. I'd bet the people you saw weren't carrying drills around to check the ice, either.

[jm31828]

No, not at all. It was huge crowds, families, kids, etc- just people wandering around on the ice.

[FishnWishn]

About 15 years ago my wife and I and two friends decided to cross-country ski on Lake Louise in Banff. It was mid-winter and we could see a horse-drawn sleigh venturing onto the ice to turn around at the far end of the lake. It was a drought year and the ice was thinly covered with snow. We noticed several darkish areas several hundred yards away from shore and assumed the wind had swept away the snow. We skied on the lake for a couple of hours and as we were returning we happened to venture close to one of the dark areas. I was in the lead and suddenly had the sensation my skis had become very heavy. I screamed for my companions to stop and turn around as I struggled to turn myself. I made it but spent about 15 minutes chipping caked ice off my skis. I knew there were hot springs in the area, but never dreamed there might be thermal springs in the lake that could create thin ice. There were no warning signs at the lake nor postings at the lodge. I'm much more cautious on ice now.

[kiliki]

As someone that grew up here, has no experience with frozen lakes, and has no idea how to tell if it's safe or not, my default is to stay off the ice, even if I see other people on it. I sure am not going to assume that all of those strangers are smart enough to know that it is completely safe. That sounds like a crazy scene to me too.

[Chief Joseph]

[Conrad]

We used to commonly skate on Lake Padden in Bellingham back in the 70s.

[jm31828]

Good call, I've seen those and we all know how foolish people are to still ignore them.

[Schenk]

Or drill a hole out in the middle of the frozen lake and stick a mannequin's arm out of it... JOKING, I am sure that would bring even more people out onto the ice.

[Edgewood]

They were playing hockey on the lake last week. My dog said no way was she going out there. She's a bit smarter then me so neither did I.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

[JorgeGhr]

Here is a infographic on Ice thickness bearing strength: