The best skating spots in Minnesota are more a matter of personal taste than any other factor. After all Minnesota really has a weather advantage over most of the rest of the states when it comes to maintaining excellent outdoor ice skating conditions for months at a time. With lots of rather reliable outdoor ice skating venues and a good balance of indoor facilities from which to choose, Minnesota residents really need only consider their own personal likes and dislikes when selecting a site from the best skating spots in Minnesota.
The Depot Ice Skating Rink, Minneapolis, MN. Just about anyone’s list of the best ice skating spots in Minnesota starts or finishes with the Depot Ice Skating Rink. Here’s a spot that really seems to have it all. First, the rink benefits from an historic setting. This is not a cooking cutter building that could be found anywhere in the U. S. The Depot Ice Skating Rink was made to fit into an existing train shed which has been in place since the 19th century. The rink is convenient located in downtown Minneapolis. It also is an interesting combination of warm, indoor skating with a great outdoor view. The Depot Skating Rink has side walls of glass which provide skaters with a sense of almost being outside. There is none of the closed in, plane hanger feeling that you get in many walled in rinks that pay no attention to ambiance.
The Depot Ice Skating Rink, like most ice facilities is open for public skating but can also be rented for parities of all kinds. You can rent skates and lockers and there is more than ample selection of food and beverages on site. For your comfort and convenience there is even underground, heated parking. In Minneapolis people appreciate such attention to details that contribute to warmth. You will pay the price of private skating arenas at $8 for adults and $6 for junior skaters and senior citizens. Skate rental is a bit pricey at $7. But the overall experience is still more than worth the expense. For more information about public skating times call at 612-375-1700. MSNBC and USA Today rate Depot Skating Rink as one of the top ten best places to ice skate in the nation.
Plymouth Ice Center, Plymouth, MN Still in the category of unique and certainly on many folks list of best ice skating spots in Minnesota is the Plymouth Ice Center. In the city of Plymouth, MN public and private funding and know how came together to produce a Ice center that is part of larger total total fitness complex. In this way skating is showcased as not just recreation but as very healthy recreation for children and adults.
The Plymouth Ice Center has three separate ice spaces, one being a full sized hockey rink with seating for more than 1,000 spectators. The ice center also has an considerable compliment of meeting and locker rooms for on ice participants. Efforts here are directed towards providing a quality center for local hockey, skating instruction and public skating. For more information about the Plymouth Ice Center and public skating hours there call at 763-509 – 5255.
Wells Fargo Winter Skate, St. Paul, MN. In another collaboration between public and private interests, the City of St. Paul, MN got together with Wells Fargo to produce and promote and outdoor skating rink in the City of St. Paul. The rink is open through February 3 and offers visitors to the St.Paul area a chance to feel like they are skating at Rockefeller Plaza in NY.
Outdoor skating may not be everyone’s cup of tea but for those who enjoy the sensation of gliding along outdoors in the fresh air, the Wells Fargo Winter Skate rink is a real find and perhaps one of the best ice skating spots in Minnesota. The rink is open for skating even if the temperature rises a bit because the ice is
artificially frozen. While you skate you have a view of the city of St. Paul from the inside out.
Wells Fargo Winter Skate has all the amenities you might expect in an outdoor facility. There is a warming area, inexpensive skate rentals and concessions to keep you going. Skating is available in daylight and under the lights. And best of all, this is a municipal skating rink that will cost you exactly nothing, except for a skate rental of $2 if you don’t come with your own skates. For public skating hours contact at 651-291-5608.
The Guidant John Rose Minnesota Oval, Roseville, MN. Few lists of the best ice skating spots in Minnesota would dare to omit the Guidant John rose Minnesota Oval in Rose ville, MN. The fact is in Minnesota many municipal governments work hard to provide season long outdoor skating for the community through a series of outdoor rinks that are flooded and then frozen for the duration. But the Guidant John Rose Minnesota Oval takes this technology and turns it into an art form.
The Guidant John Rose Minnesota Oval is the largest artificially cooled outdoor ice rink, not just in the state of Minnesota, but in the world. There is a lot of serious competitive skating that goes on here, lots of speed skating and lots of recreational skating too. It is truly a premiere ice skating facility in this part of the world. To get an image of the size of The Oval just know that it has a 400 meter speed skating track which encloses 4 individual hockey rinks . Now thats large. To get in on the fun offered at the Oval call 651-792-7007.
