Ice flowing past Marine on St. Croix the morning of March 16. The silver maples also started budding the previous night. (Photo by Andy Kramer)
It’s that happy time of year when the St. Croix River returns to its liquid state.
Starting last weekend, reports of open water started appearing. Then there were photos of people paddling. As the week wore on, the river cleared up.
The Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway posted about ice-out at the Highway 70 bridge on its Facebook page, providing some historical context and asking for guesses for this year:
When will the ice go out at the Highway 70 Bridge? We have kept records for 30 years at this location on the St. Croix River. Earliest ice out was February 26, 1998 and latest was April 10, 2014. What is your guess?
Here are some reports and images from up and down the river of the annual opening of the open water season.
“Iceberg races” near Arcola
Karen Schulz shared this video on March 15:
Osceola outing
Andrew Carlson of Riverwood Canoe got out in a kayak on Tuesday, March 17 from the Osceola landing:
Nevers Dam
Russ “River Road Rambler” Hanson published these photos taken by his son Scott on Tuesday, March 17th. Taken on the Wisconsin side of the historic Nevers Dam (across from Wild River State Park), they include shots of eagles on their nest downstream:
I-94 bridge
Lastly, here is from the beach upstream of the Interstate 94 bridge on the Minnesota side, taken on Monday, March 16:
Photo by Greg Seitz, St. Croix 360
Please email your photos or other reports of the arrival of early spring along the St. Croix to news@stcroix360.com.