Maytag Park ice skating rink open

The Maytag Park ice skating rink may be adorned with decorative holiday lights, but Assistant Superintendent of Park Operations Jamie Murphy insists the winter activity is ready for locals to enjoy.

Set up in November just before Thanksgiving, the 52-by-84-foot ice skating rink is free to use and is available daily until 11 p.m. when the park closes. The rink will persist well into the later winter months, Murphy said, and is likely to be taken down closer to March when the ice and snow, inevitably, begins to thaw.

“As long as it’s cold enough, we leave it up,” she said. “It kind of comes and goes. We’ll have times where the ice is pretty good or we’ll go through a stretch where it won’t be used at all.”

The ice skating rink has been constructed annually by parks and recreation staff for a couple years. Murphy said staff would like to see more use out of the ice skating rink.

Its only light source for many years was a spotlight from the neighboring tennis courts. Now equipped with Christmas lights, this may be the year residents are encouraged to use the ice for casual use or a maybe a brief, pickup hockey game. Park Operations Superintendent Nick Cummins said lighting has been an issue in the past, but the new lights may entice folks to bundle up and enjoy the ice skating rink.

“It’s just another way to get kids out at a different time this season,” he said.

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com