Prior Lake Polar Plunge

Plungers go in by timeslot. Slots open about three days before the plunge, and anyone who has not picked one by noon on the Friday before is assigned one. Check-in opens at 11 a.m. at the beach and the first wave goes in at noon. There are changing tents; you head over 15 to 30 minutes before your slot.

Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools send the biggest block: in 2026, 365 high school students and nearly 140 district employees plunged, along with a group of 34 from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, business teams, families and plenty of people on their own. Spectators are welcome and pay nothing.

The organization says plunge money pays for year-round training and services for thousands of athletes with intellectual disabilities across the state. It is a 501(c)(3), and donations are tax deductible.

If a teammate has not reached $75 by check-in, donations can be moved between team members there, which lowers the giver’s total and reward level. Online donations cannot be moved once they are made.

Pre-registration and check-in run at the beach from 4 to 6 p.m. the Friday before, and day-of check-in opens at 11 a.m. Bring cash and check donations with you; only money in your account by check-in counts toward your total and your reward. A corporate match counts if Special Olympics Minnesota has it before your plunge.

Every level comes with the year’s long-sleeve T-shirt, handed out at check-in. For 2026: the shirt alone at $75, plus a scarf at $150, a hat at $300, a sweatshirt at $500, a Nike duffel at $1,500, and the whole set at $3,000.

That call is the parent’s. Anyone under 18 needs a parent or guardian at the beach the whole time.

Special Olympics Minnesota can cancel for weather or safety. Donations are not refunded, but your registration moves to another plunge or the Virtual Plunge and you still get your rewards.

Anything decent goes, and many teams dress up or coordinate costumes. There are separate changing tents for men and women, watched by law enforcement. Go in 15 to 30 minutes before your slot.

At most plunge sites the water is around waist deep, and a trained dive team stands in it. When the lake has ice, the crew cuts a hole off the beach; when it does not, you run in from the sand. The event goes on either way.

Watching is free and needs no registration, and the shuttle buses are free for spectators too. Volunteer photographers post the day’s pictures on the Polar Plunge Flickr page afterward.

The most Prior Lake has raised in one year, with about 100 more plungers than 2025. High school students alone brought in $70,000 in pledges and district employees another $50,000.

Special Olympics Minnesota’s final count.

Up from 850 plungers and $257,911 in 2023.

Special Olympics Minnesota has not posted the 2027 date yet. The last three Prior Lake plunges were Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025 and Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, each the third Saturday of February, with check-in from 11 a.m. and the first wave in the water at noon. The 2027 date will be on this page and on the Prior Lake Events calendar the day it posts.

At Sand Point Beach Park, 14349 Crest Avenue NE, Prior Lake, MN 55372, the city beach on the north shore of Prior Lake. Plungers go in through a hole cut in the ice off the beach, or run in from the sand when the lake is open. The lot at the beach is small, so the plunge runs free shuttle buses for plungers and spectators from about 10:30 a.m. until it ends; in 2026 the stops were The Pointe Grill and Bar, T.J. Hooligans and the VFW in Prior Lake, and McHugh’s Public House and Buffalo Wild Wings in Savage.

Each plunger has to raise at least $75 to go in. Teams can shift donations between members at check-in if someone is short, but online donations cannot be moved once they are made. Rewards go up with the amount raised: for 2026 they were a long-sleeve T-shirt at $75, a scarf at $150, a hat at $300, a sweatshirt at $500, a Nike duffel at $1,500 and the whole set at $3,000, handed out at check-in.

A towel, old or waterproof shoes, a plastic bag for the wet clothes, and a dry change of clothes including underwear. Plungers wear shoes at all times, in the water too. Wear whatever you like as long as it is decent; many teams plunge in costume. There are separate changing tents for men and women, and you head in 15 to 30 minutes before your timeslot. Outside alcohol is not allowed on or around the site.

Yes. Watching is free and needs no registration, and the shuttle buses are free for spectators as well as plungers. There is no age minimum for plunging, but anyone under 18 who plunges needs a parent or guardian at the beach the whole time.

It is the second-largest plunge in Minnesota after Minneapolis. In 2026 nearly 1,200 people plunged and raised more than $343,000, the most Prior Lake has raised in one year. In 2025, 1,106 plungers raised $313,314, and in 2024, 1,005 plungers raised $308,902. Special Olympics Minnesota put the Prior Lake total at $3,115,811 through 2025.