Pop Up Ice Skating Spots in
Royal Oak and Ferndale
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Jan. 22, 2016)
Royal Oak, MI – The City of Royal Oak and the City of Ferndale have added some wintery fun to local parks – creating makeshift ice skating rinks for residents and visitors.
The City of Royal Oak announced today “Earth rinks at Grant Park and Exchange Park are open for business! The ice rinks were whipped into shape by Department of Public Service (DPS) volunteers, according to Greg Rassel, DPS director.”
“Lee Collick, Jeff Derringer and Bryan Griffith are responsible converting depressions in these parks into skateable rinks,” Rassel said. “It takes a great deal of time and effort to build up a solid base of ice, but they do it — and on their own time”
Ferndale has followed suit, with the Department of Public Works (DPW) creating a rink at Garbutt Park. The rink is in process, and will depend on the weather.
“Years ago the city used to flood a portion of Martin Rd. Park for ice skating, but it’s not suitable for that anymore. By popular demand, DPW will flood a low point at the south end of Garbutt Park for this wintertime fun,” said Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter. “Stay tuned, and get your skates ready!”
Know of any others around Oakland County we should add? Message us at editor@oc115.com with a picture and location and we’ll add it to this list!
cover photo: Historical photo of skating in Martin Road Park in Ferndale.