While Minnesota is known as the land of 10,000 lakes, it is also known for its bitterly cold winters. Many parks and facilities offer ways to enjoy the Minnesota winter even during the coldest days.

This year, The Depot in downtown Minneapolis offers indoor ice skating, Centennial Lakes in Edina has outdoor ice skating and Afton Alps in Hastings offers downhill skiing along with a new terrain park.

Amy Reents, marketing manager at Afton Alps, said the park has many new features this year aimed at enhancing the visitor’s experience.

“The main things are the terrain parks, a food truck, high speed rope tows, enhanced menu items, a new guest service facility and 72 snow machines,” Reents said. “The terrain park ranges from intermediate to advanced and there is a new area for learning.”

Hyland Ski and Snowboard Area has many slopes available for skiing and snowboarding.
Fred Seymore, Alpine services manager at Hyland, said the Hyland facilities have not changed much from years past.

“We offer good skiing and snowboarding. We have a large facility for rentals. We offer food services and lessons,” Seymore said.

Although the only new aspect of the park this year is an upgraded snowmaking capacity, Seymore said it is a fun place for students to go.

“It’s close. It’s convenient and the best terrain park in the state,” he said

Centennial Lakes Park’s skating pond will open depending on weather. There is a warming house and three skating ponds connected by canals.

Laura Knollmaier, assistant manager of Centennial Lakes Park said although they are not offering any new attractions this year, it is still a great place for students to go.

“It’s a unique, fun outdoor atmosphere that you can’t find anywhere else in the metro, and it’s good for dates,” Knollmaier said.

According to Robert Payne, director of sales and marketing at The Depot, the ice skating rink was listed as one of the top 10 rinks in the United States by “Voter’s Travel,” and offers many features.

“We offer skate rentals, both hockey skates and figure skates, people can also privately rent the rink,” Payne said. “We have skating with Santa Dec. 15, and new food items such as hot panini, pizza and soup.”

Payne said an advantage of going to The Depot is that it is indoors, so students can stay warm during cold days.

“They can experience the natural light that floods into the rink, and it’s about 40 degrees in the rink,” Payne said.

Sophomore Abby Melbye said she thinks enjoying the outdoors during the winter is a nice change of pace from staying indoors.

“It’s nice to get fresh air,” Melbye said. “When you sit inside for a long time it gets stuffy in the winter.”