Update on 2024 Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board ice rink building and ice safety

Staff are watering rinks twice a day and hope to begin opening in mid-January, walking on lake ice is not recommended right now

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is working hard to open ice rinks! For the first time this winter the temperature is forecasted to remain below freezing for an extended period, so starting today, January 2, 2024, staff are watering two shifts a day, every day until rinks are open or another warm up arrives.

Frost is not deep in the ground, so a typical flood with a large amount of water will not work like in past years. Ice will have to be built in smaller increments. Rinks could start opening in mid-January if sustained below freezing temperatures continue. More updates are planned as work progresses.

Information on ice rinks locations, warming room hours, and the rink building process is available at minneapolisparks.org/rinks

Ice Safety

Ice on Minneapolis water bodies is never 100% safe. Do not go out onto ice unless you check ice thickness and find it to be at least 4 inches thick for new, clear ice, or 8 inches thick for white or snow-covered ice.

More information on ice safety from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is available at mndnr.gov/icesafety