Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport

Lake Hood Ice Conditions

Lakes Hood and Spenard Grooming and Ice Conditions Information:

map of lake hood showing ice measurement locations

NOTES:

Please always refer to NOTAMS. Contact Airport Operations 907-266-2600 (available 24/7) or the Lake Hood Office at 907-266-2410 or 907-266-2741 for further information or questions.

Lake Hood Seaplane Base Ice Testing Plan:

Ice testing of the seaplane base will commence once no open water conditions exist.
Initial ice thickness measurements will only be taken from the floating dock of the boathouse located at the west ramp until a thickness of 6 inches exists.
Only after the ice thickness at the boathouse dock reaches 6 inches and no overflow conditions exists, will measurements be taken at other designated locations.
Conditions observed such as: Ice thickness, overflow, snow cover, and surface roughness will be reported to Airport Management and Airport Operations.
Airport Management and Airport Operations will use this information along with other available information when issuing NOTAMS.
Grooming of the lakes and channels will not commence until the ice has reached a thickness of 12 inches in all areas and is free from overflow.

Lake Hood Decision Matrix:

Surface/Status	Known to be safe (With no known hazards. This would probably be used on the lake when the surface is groomed.)	Known to be unsafe (This could be used for "Men and Equipment on the surface" or other conditions, or when the lake is marginal or worse during freeze-up and break-up.)	Condition Unknown (This could be due to recent snowfall, freeze/break-up depending on the amount of open water, or any other time when the conditions were unknown.)
Lake Hood (LHD)	Open	NOTAM Closed, with reason. Closed: Ice on surface/minimum ice depth less than 6 inches. Closed: Soft/rotten/melting ice/overflow.	Open: Surface condition unknown.
Lake Hood Strip	Open	NOTAM Closed (This would include ~4+ inches of snow since strip is maintained for normal wheel operations year-round.)	Open: Surface condition unknown.