Experience gliding on ice – the feel of the wind through your hair, the serenity of a quiet Minnesota evening as you skate around the Oval’s 400m track, the beauty of the lights in the trees surrounding you… enjoy a fun cardio workout in the refreshing winter air with friends and teammates… glide, glide, glide.

Give it a try! We have skates ready for your use and we have programs that will help get you started. Speed skating is a lifelong sport and can be done for recreation and exercise and you can skate competitively. Racing is not required. There are lots of options to get you started.

The Oval offers all varieties of speed skating – long track, short track and inline. The 400m Oval is open for ice from November to March and is used for long track skating. Skating is typically done in a pack style and racing is done in either a pack or with two skaters racing in a pair against each other and the clock. Short track skating uses a smaller ice space and is done inside of the Oval track or in the inside arena rink. Inline skating (on wheels) is offered during the spring, summer and fall months. Regardless of the season, you can always speed skate at the Oval.

HOW TO GET STARTED WITH SPEED SKATING