Bayfront Park Ice Rinks Opens for Season

DULUTH, Minn.– After weeks of anticipation, the ice rink at Bayfront Park was ready to open up again Saturday. And Duluthians were ready to make the most of the opening day.

Ice skating outside as rinks like this is one of the main staples of wintertime in the Northland.

Dustin Hamm and his daughter Madison have been skating the rinks around town. Including regularly stopping in at Bayfront’s rink. Madison has been taking skating lessons through the Duluth Hockey Association earlier this fall. And the two said were ready to lace up their skates and come back to one of their favorite spots.

“[Skating was] good,” said Madison.

“She was excited,” said her father Dustin. “That’s one of the nice parts about living here is that we have the ability to get outside. There’s a lot of outside we can do instead of just all of the indoor activities.”

While the rink’s warming house will stay closed due to COVID-19 guidelines, concessions are still available on the weekends. And this year anyone who can’t afford skates can still glide along the ice thanks to is the city’s skate loans program.

One skater who used the program was Michael Sigala. An Illinois native but a student at St. Scholastica, he says he’s never had a chance to take advantage of all of the rinks in town until now.

“Duluth is an ice skating city so I thought, ‘We have to go out there. We have to try to get out at least once before I leave the city,’” said Sigala.

It’s only the second time skating in his life, so he tries his best as he attempts to move along the ice. While he still had a fun time outside, Sigala says no matter how old you are, ice skating is a lot harder than it looks.

“They make it look way easier on TV, the hockey players. I was looking up tutorials and how to skate and how to do this. Thinking that I could do backwards skating and I could barely go forward,” laughed Sigala. “It hurts your feet a little so maybe I need to invest in some skates.”

The ice rink will be open on Saturdays and Sundays from 12-4 p.m. and from 3-7 p.m. on Monday-Friday.