On February 18, 1995, at 1500 central standard time, a Cessna 180J, N52172, registered to Flossie Telin and piloted by a private pilot collided with trees during an aborted landing on Upper Bug Lake, Cotton, Minnesota, while on a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was substantially damaged and the pilot was not injured. The flight originated from Duluth, Minnesota, on February 18, 1995, at 1430. The pilot reported that he landed the airplane on a snow covered/frozen lake and felt he would not be able to stop in the available distance. He stated he executed an aborted landing and failed to clear tree tops along the edge of the lake. The airplane contacted the trees and settled through the trees to impact the terrain. The pilot reported to an Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector that he avoided the river channel portion of the river which left him with approximately 1,000 feet of lake on which to land. The FAA Inspector stated that the landing area available did not appear to be 1,000 feet.