The thickest lake ice on Earth has been observed on permanently frozen lakes that are covered by glaciers, where the present record of 295 m is from Lake Vostok in Antarctica12.
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Lake Vida is one of the largest lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valley region and is a closed-basin endorheic lake. The permanent surface ice on the lake is the thickest non-glacial ice on earth, reaching a depth of at least 21 metres (69 ft).
Since water is good at holding heat, the more water there is, the more heat it will hold. This is why large deep lakes take longer freeze and melt than small shallow lakes. Water freezes from the perimeter of the lake to the center.
Great Lakes that have completely frozen include Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake to have never frozen entirely.
During some really cold winters, some lake ice can be as much as six feet thick! In winter most fish spend their time near bottom, where the food and warmest (39.2°F) water lies.
That doesn't mean, however, when the air temp reaches 32 the lakes freeze. Water is a great insulator and good at holding heat, which is why the lake temperature doesn't fluctuate much day to day like the air does. Therefore, below freezing temperatures are needed for a week or more to form ice on a large lake.
Lake ice freezes first at the surface starting at the edges or shoreline for two reasons. Water near the shore is typically shallower and contains less heat than deeper water so it can reach the freezing point faster than deeper water.