Lake of the Isles Park Outdoor Rink

Public skating at Lake of the Isles Park Outdoor Rink: the next 7 days

Currently out of season The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board's ice rink page still reads "Ice rinks closed for the season on February 15, 2026" and gives no 2026-27 opening date. Its outdoor rinks are natural ice, not refrigerated, so the Board builds and floods them once the weather has stayed below freezing for about ten days; when open, all rinks are lit daily 4:30-9 pm. The Park Board lists Lake of the Isles Park among its outdoor rinks, for general skating and hockey (rink type G, H on its 2025-26 flyer). Official schedule update

Minneapolis's Lake of the Isles skating rink, saved from closure in 2025

Lake of the Isles is an engineered lake, created in the early 20th century. A world record for the distance was set on February 6, 1916 on a quarter-mile skating oval on the lake. The finals of the Silver Skates Derby, a race series for local boys and girls, were held at the Isles, and the 1929 national championships came to the lake; speedskaters raced there until 1929, when the first speedskating oval was created at Powderhorn Lake.

For more than a century, residents have laced up their skates at the north end of the lake. In 2025 the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board considered closing the rink because of climate change and a budget shortfall. A petition started by neighbors Janet and Phil Hallaway gathered nearly 3,000 signatures, and in November 2025 park staff developed a plan to restore the Lake of the Isles rink and all the outdoor rinks cut in the previous budget cycle.

Before you head out.

Admission, rentals and arrival details, researched from official rink information. Source checks stay current for 30 days.

A source check records what the rink published on that date. Session-specific booking details take precedence.