Winter arriving doesn't have to be all bad for residents in the Foothills.

Now that temperatures have dropped the Town of Okotoks is preparing their outdoor rinks for local skaters.

Parks manager Christa Michailuck says the outdoor rinks are currently listed closed but won't be for long.

"So we are just finally getting cold weather now and it takes about five days to freeze the water solid so we ask people to not go on them until at least next weekend. That will give us a chance to get them ready to skate. If people go on them too soon they tend to crash through the ice."

Even though the odr's are a fun way to get outside even in the cold weather Michailuck says there are some rules that go along with them.

"Recreational skaters come first. So if there's nobody on the rink recreationally skating then hockey is typically permitted unless signed otherwise for a particular rink  and helmets are strongly recommended, I believe required if playing hockey."

And when it comes to the maintenance of the rinks Michailuck is hoping it will be a community effort this year.

"We'd certainly like to see a combination of efforts go into maintenance of the outdoor rink. So parks will provide snow clearing of the rinks on normal business days but residents on weekends or evenings are welcome to and encouraged to come out and bring their snow shovels and clear off the rinks and keep them nice."

Residents are reminded that storm ponds are not safe to skate on as they are constantly flowing and are never fully frozen over.

For more information on the outdoor rinks and where to find them visit okotoks.ca.

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