Some ice skating rinks are open but another is still being prepared due to warm weather in December. The rink at Mt. Blue State Park headquarters on Center Hill in Weld, seen in this file photo, offers one of the best views while enjoying time on the ice. File photo/Livermore Falls Advertiser
REGION — Mild weather has affected the opening date for one ice skating rink and a popular winter activity has been canceled for the second year in a row.
“We’re hoping to be working on setting (the rink) up Wednesday,” Jennifer Savage, assistant director of Farmington Parks and Recreation Department, said Monday, Jan. 3. “The ground needs to be completely frozen. The tarp we use (under the ice) has been heating the ground. This is the first week it has been cold enough.”
Other rinks in the area don’t use a tarp, Savage said. The goal is to have the Farmington rink open mid-January, she added.
For operating hours or more information, people should follow the department’s Facebook page or call 778-3464.
In Weld, the ice skating rink at Mt. Blue State Park headquarters on Center Hill is open, park manager Bruce Farnham said Monday.
“We’re not having the Take It Outside Family Winter Fun Day this year,” he noted. “Ski trails will be groomed when there is enough snow.”
For years, Take It Outside had been held on the first Saturday in February but was canceled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The yurt near the rink will be open with a fire to warm skaters and some skates are available there to use, Farnham said. Depending on the weather, the rink is open seven days a week and a light switch on the pole may be turned on for night skating so long as it is turned off when leaving, he noted.
For more information visit the park’s Facebook page.
The rink at Kineowatha Park in Wilton is also open, Parks and Recreation Director Frank Donald said Monday.
“Unless the sign is up, people can skate anytime whether the warming shack is open or not,” he noted. “The lights are on nightly until 8 p.m.”
Warming shack hours are 3:30-5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 3:30-6 p.m. Friday, and 12-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Skates and walkers to assist new skaters may be used at no charge when the shack is open. Chips, hot chocolate and some candy are available to buy.
“We were some busy over Christmas break,” Donald said. “We averaged 35-40 people a day at least. I hope to go through February vacation, mid-to-late February if the weather cooperates. Sometimes it doesn’t, we have to close before February vacation.”
For more information or to see if ice maintenance has temporarily closed the rink, call645-4825 or visit the Facebook page.
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