Ice Skating Season Officially Begins

Get ready to lace up and head out. Burnsville's outdoor ice skating rinks and warming houses officially opened for the season last week, the day after Christmas.

The City of Burnsville has an extensive network of rinks, in addition to Burnsville Ice Center. All are supervised by city staff. All but one have a warming house.

No hockey or broomball is allowed, unless the rink is hosting a designated "open hockey night." Rinks close if more than one inch of snow accumulates or if the temperature/windchill reaches negative 19 degrees or colder. You can check the city's website for daily updates on rink conditions.

Here are the hours of Burnsville's outdoor rinks:

• Monday through Friday, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Sunday 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Dec. 31, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Jan. 1, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Here are the 13 skatings sites:

• Civic Center Park
• Highland Park
• Forest Park
• Knob Hill Park
• Neill Park
• North River Hills Park
• Northview Park
• Paha Sapa Park
• Red Oak Park
• South River Hills Park
• Terrace Oaks East Park
• Timberland Knolls Park
• Vista View Park
• West Buck Hill (No warming house)

Here's where you can obtain skates:

• Burnsville Ice Center rents skates on the whole size (no half sizes), at $5 a pair. The center has a child size 8 through 13 adult size.
• The Burnsville Sports Authority has cut-rate skates, as does Play It Again Sports.
• Local skating groups recommend Pierce Skate & Ski or Westwood Sports, both in Bloomington.