You could argue forever about when winter begins – by the calendar or by when the snow shovels come out and the gloves go on, etc.

Seasons aside, Minot has had the most enjoyable winter weather for some time now. A white Christmas with temperatures in the plus range is nothing short of a blessing.

Our winter wonderland, complete with amazing hoarfrost on Christmas Day, has been made even better by some of the activities most of us can choose to participate in. That includes the outdoor skating rinks that the Minot Park District operates year after year.

Generations of Minot kids have enjoyed much of their winters outdoors on the ice – first on sloughs, ponds and the Souris River, then on man-made rinks with warming houses to boot.

This year Minot Parks and Recreation operates six public rinks, at four locations. And there are warming houses at all four locations – Polaris Park, Corbett Field, Roosevelt School and Perkett School.

As we reported earlier this month before the kids got out of school, the rinks are always open to the public, even when skaters wish to use them outside of regular hours of operation. Those hours are 4-9:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The rinks are closed Wednesdays but open Saturday and Sunday.

Anne Nesheim, Minot Parks, says hours of weekend operation for the rinks this winter has changed.

“In the past we were open 2-9:30 p.m. on the weekend but we are extending those hours a little bit,” said Nesheim. “We’re adding two hours making it noon to 9:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. That’s the hours for the warming houses when we have a supervisor inside.”

We should note, though, that on New Year’s Eve the hours will be noon to 5 p.m. The rinks will be closed New Year’s Day.

Another bonus: “It’s always free and open to the public for anyone who comes,” said Nesheim. “They get quite a bit of use over the school break when the kids are out of school.”

Free outdoor public ice skating is one of the best activities Minot Parks and Rec. offer, and that is saying a lot. The department does a phenomenal job year-round.