Get your skates ready -- Assiniboine Park is kicking off the new year by offering Winnipeggers a fun place to hit the ice. On Thursday, the Assiniboine Park Conservancy announced the park’s Riley Family Duck Pond is officially open for the winter season. The conservancy noted the shelter located next to the pond will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., providing washroom access and a spot to warm up. Visitors are reminded that hockey sticks and pucks are not permitted, and guests must stay off the ice during plowing and flooding maintenance. If you work up an appetite, a pathway from the pond to the next-door Park Café has been covered with rubber mats, enabling guests to access the take-out window without removing skates. The café is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cargo Bar’s pop-up patio, also located next door to the Duck Pond, is returning this winter and will be open daily from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. If skating isn’t your preferred winter sport, Assiniboine Park says the cross-country ski trails and toboggan hill are also now open.
