Naperville Park District gets ready for outdoor winter fun
Naperville Park District offers outdoor winter sports locations throughout the community.
These facilities are free and open to the public, however, they are weather dependent.
The outdoor skating areas can open only after a period of extreme cold.
The park district posts red flags or green flags at ice skating rinks to indicate whether they are closed or open, providing a user-friendly and visible signal to people at park locations.
The park district also updates the status of ice rinks at www.napervilleparks.org/cancellations, allowing residents the ability to check on the status of rinks prior to leaving their home.
Skaters should not use ice rinks when they are posted as closed on the website or when a red flag is flying at the rink.
The park district maintains three skating areas which are lighted and open until 10 p.m.:
• Centennial Park, 500 W. Jackson Ave.;
• Nike Sports Complex, 288 W. Diehl Road;
• Wolf's Crossing Community Park, 3252 Wolf's Crossing Road.
Additionally, the following ice rinks are not lighted and close one hour past sunset:
• Meadow Glens Park, 1303 Muirhead Ave.;
• Gartner Park, 524 W. Gartner Road.
Naperville Park District also maintains sled hills which are open if the ground is frozen with two or more inches of snow and no visible grass.
In addition to Rotary Hill (located at 443 Aurora Ave.), which remains open until 10 p.m., the following hills are not lighted and close at dusk:
• Arrowhead Park, 711 Iroquois Ave.;
• Brook Crossings, 1015 95th St.;
• Country Lakes Park, 1835 N. Aurora Road;
• Gartner Park, 524 W. Gartner Road;
• May Watts Park, 804 S. Whispering Hills Drive;
• Weigand Riverfront Park, 2436 S. Washington St.;
• Wolf's Crossing Community Park, 3252 Wolf's Crossing Road.
Both sledding and snowboarding are permitted at all of the sled hills.
The park district reminds everyone to stay off the ice on retention ponds in parks and neighborhoods. It is never safe to go out on the ice, even when it appears to be solid. There may be thin, weak spots that are dangerous and unpredictable. Parents are asked to talk with their children about the dangers of ponds in winter and teach them how to stay safe. Help pets stay safe, too, by keeping them leashed around ponds.