Skating will be added to the things you can do at the Bob Lochhead Memorial Park and Foothills Lions Campground in Black Diamond this winter.
The Lions Club has built the frame for an ice rink that is hoped to be flooded this December for families to enjoy.
Barry Crane is the chair of the campground rink committee and said they want the campground to be a year-round gathering place.
“With COVID being what it is, and rink times being booked up, we wanted to give people a place to spend their time,” Crane said.
Black Diamond has an indoor rink and two outdoor rinks and Turner Valley has one outdoor rink. The Scott Seaman rink in Black Diamond is covered and already has a refrigeration system and is already open for the season. The other two rinks and the newest rink at the campground require cold weather for the ice to freeze.
The Lions Club is hopeful they can have the ice ready to go this month.
“The rink is framed so we are waiting for a cold snap,” Crane said. “We are hoping to have it open by the end of December, weather permitting.”
There will be no hockey allowed at the outdoor rink at the campground, Crane said. The other outdoor rinks are often booked up with hockey games or people playing pick-up games, he said, so this will give families a place to skate.
“It will be a place where people can have a fire pit and some social time,” said Crane.
The campground has eight fire pits and supplies free wood that will be available all winter.
“They can have a wiener roast or marshmallow roast,” he said.
The park is already all lit up with lights donated from locals. Crane said this year they will again ask people to donate lights they have no use for so the light display will continue to grow.
“You can walk in the park, walk your dog, enjoy a fire and have a skate and just enjoy some time in nature,” he said.
Black Diamond town council agreed to cover the cost of the water for the first flood of the ice, which will be done by the fire department and Crane said they will also be asking the Turner Valley Fire Department to also donate water.
