Two children ice skate at Spirit Mountain in Duluth
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Minnesota's Best Ice Skating Rinks

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Two children ice skate at Spirit Mountain  / Credit: Spirit Mountain
Family Fun // Winter Sports // Article

Minnesota's Best Ice Skating Rinks

By Erica Wacker

Whether you want to practice your Flying V or polish your toe pick, Minnesota’s ice skating rinks are the perfect surface for winter fun. 

Found in every corner of the state, ice rinks form on frozen lakes, ponds and even rivers as soon as the ice is thick enough with refrigerated rinks popping up around Thanksgiving or even earlier. In addition to skating, most of the rinks on this list have skates available for rent as well as warming houses and/or other perks like concessions and special events.

Channel your inner Neal Broten or Kristy Yamaguchi and head to these indoor and outdoor rinks across the state.

Central Park Ice Loop in Maple Grove

Central Park Ice Loop in Maple Grove 

MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL

When it comes to ice skating, few places do it better than the Twin Cities. Find popular spots like the Central Park Ice Skating Loop in Maple Grove — one of the country’s only refrigerated ice skating trails, clocking in at 810 feet long and 20 feet wide — or The ROC (Recreation Outdoor Center), an open-air covered ice center in St. Louis Park.

Countless neighboring cities also have their own impressive rinks. You can skate North America’s largest outdoor refrigerated rink in Roseville, glide around the 10 acres of ponds and frozen canals of Centennial Lakes Park in Edina, or join the Winter Skolstice festivities in Eagan.

If frozen lakes are more your style, head to Edina, Buffalo, or Lake of the Isles, Nokomis and Powderhorn in Minneapolis. Lace up at the Infinity Loop on Lake Minnetonka’s Wayzata Bay during the Wayzata Chilly Open in February and you can even watch a movie on a jumbo screen as you skate. It's endless fun! 

INDOOR ICE SKATING RINKS 

OUTDOOR ICE SKATING RINKS  

Ice Skating on Lake Alice

Lake Alice in Fergus Falls opens for skating with a big party on the ice

CENTRAL MINNESOTA

In Fergus Falls, Lake Alice is plowed for both a skating rink and a track around the lake and remains open for as long as conditions allow. In St. Cloud, Lake George is the place to skate, or head to Blackberry Ridge Golf Club in nearby Sartell where you can warm up before or after your skate at the club’s Grill 19.

Other places to skate in this region include Alexandria, Pine River, Hutchinson, New York Mills and the Brainerd Lakes area, which features rinks on Gull Lake for guests staying at Cragun’s Resort or Grand View Lodge.

Indoor Ice Skating Rinks

Outdoor Ice Skating Rinks

People ice skating on frozen Lake Winona

Rent skates or BYO to Lake Winona in southeast Minnesota / Visit Winona

SOUTHERN MINNESOTA

The towering bluffs of southeast Minnesota make a beautiful backdrop for skating in Winona, a year-round destination for outdoor recreation. But lakes aren’t the only bodies of water that freeze in the winter. The Straight River, a 55-mile tributary of the Mississippi, has hockey and skating near downtown Owatonna, or you can skate on an inlet of the Des Moines River in southwest Jackson.

Several outdoor skating rinks can be found in Albert Lea, Mankato and Rochester, where you can skate on a frozen running track. 

Indoor Ice Skating Rinks 

Outdoor Ice Skating Rinks 

Ice skating at Ashley Park in Jackson

Kids and adults play pond hockey at Ashley Park in Jackson / Singvongsa Photography

NORTHEAST MINNESOTA

You can’t skate on Lake Superior, but you can get pretty close at Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth. After the Bentleyville Festival of Lights wraps up, the park transforms into an ice skating rink in early January. Further along the North Shore, outdoor rinks can be found in Knife River, Two Harbors, Silver Bay, Tofte and Grand Marais.

Up in the hockey-loving Iron Range, there are rinks in Biwabik (minutes from the Giants Ridge ski resort), Hibbing and Virginia. While on the Range, pay a visit to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth. Or head to Grand Rapids for your choice of four outdoor rinks, including a covered one at the IRA Civic Center.

Indoor Ice Skating Rinks 

Outdoor Ice Skating Rinks 

A family on the Riverbend Skate Path in Warroad

A family on the Riverbend Skate Path in Warroad / Jonah Cory

NORTHWEST MINNESOTA 

Bemidji is no stranger to fun on the ice. In addition to the city’s four indoor ice arenas, there are two outdoor skating destinations. Experience the ultimate #OnlyinMN ice skating in Warroad, where the Riverbend Skate Path, one of the longest ice skating trails in the United States. It connects to Doc Harbor Inn’s public skating rink as well as several private rinks to provide five miles of open skating for all to enjoy in Hockeytown USA.

Further south, Detroit Lakes’ Peoples Park is another skating destination in this region.

Indoor Ice Skating Rinks 

Outdoor Ice Skating Rinks 

Erica Wacker

Erica Wacker is a Midwesterner through and through, growing up in Illinois, going to college in Wisconsin, and settling down in Minnesota. She loves to run, travel with her family, and go to concerts to relive her youth.