December is almost here, and with the colder weather, comes winter activities.

Outdoor enthusiasts are already planning their ideal locations for ice houses on the thousands of Northland lakes.

But Minnesota authorities are warning outdoors people to use caution when out on frozen waters.

Duluth Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Erik Simonsin says "There's certainly some areas where we have enough ice to support a person in some areas, but you're going to want to be really careful, we have a number of areas where we have currents moving where the ice is going to be real thin, unpredictable in terms of thickness, certainly to early to be out on vehicles, fish houses, four–wheelers things like that."

Every year hundreds of Minnesotans fall through the ice in easily avoidable situations.

Robin McCauley of the St. Louis County Volunteer Rescue Squad says four inches of ice is the minimum for a person to be on.

However there are some areas on the ice which always should be avoided.

She says "Certainly stay off your rivers and streams, and certainly stay away from ice ridges as they form, other than that solid body's of water, inland lakes are fine."

Duluth Fire Department Assistant Chief Erik Simonsin says the danger of falling through the ice, is not drowning... but hypothermia.

He says "That water is just a few degrees above freezing, gonna happen very quickly in just a few minutes the early symptoms of hypothermia can start to set in."

If you do plan on venturing onto a frozen lake, the experts have a few safety tips.

McCauley says "We recommend a life jacket, and some ice picks are highly recommended, you can buy the fancy version at Gander Mountain, or make some out of wooden rod and some nails."

Both McCauley and Simonson agree that the Northland is at least a few weeks away for people to be driving and setting ice houses on the lakes.