- Max Trip Size: 30 people
Meet at Bde Maka Ska North Parking Lot. This is a city parks pay lot with plenty of parking.
You can recognize me by my bright green coat.
Bring:
Ice skates
Cross country ski poles, if you like to use them
Foam pad if you want something warm to sit on the ice when you put on your skates.
Skate guards, if you plan to walk in your skates off the ice. There are no rubber mats.
Thermos of something warm to drink, if you want.
The plan is to skate for 60-90 minutes.
This will be a fun/social skate, not a hard training skate. After skating for a while on Bde Maka Ska, we can decide as a group whether to skate through the channels to any of the other connected lakes, or stay on Bde Maka Ska.
There is no warming house, so wear warm clothes!
After skating, anyone who’s interested can walk or skate a few hundred yards to Pimento Jamaican Kitchen for something to eat and/or drink.
I have skated this week on Lake Nokomis, Lake Harriet, Bde Maka Ska, Lake of the Isles, Cedar Lake, Brownie Lake, and Bush Lake. The ice is PLENTY thick to be safe…11-12” on Bde Maka Ska, 6” on Cedar Lake, and somewhere in between for the rest of the lakes. The smoothest ice today (Saturday) was on the northwest quadrant of Bde Maka Ska. But it was skatable almost everywhere else, including the channels between lakes.
I’ve been using my new Nordic skate blades attached to my skate ski boots and they’ve been great. But I saw lots of other people having fun today with hockey skates and figure skates. I’ve been using my cross country ski poles for more efficiency and to go faster at times, but they’re not necessary.
There is a porta potty at the parking lot, and indoor public bathrooms a short walk away on the east side of the Pimento Jamaican Kitchen building.
If you can’t make it Sunday, send me a message to let me know if you’d be interested in going another day. I know this is short notice.
Craig Wiklund