Printer Friendly Version - Guilford Parks and Rec Director Warns Stay Off the Ice

Baby, it’s cold outside—but not that cold. Guilford Parks & Recreation reminds would-be skaters that Mill Pond is closed to skating unless there’s a sign stating otherwise. Photo by Zoe Roos/The Courier

With the first snowstorm of the winter now behind us and colder temperatures potentially on the way, residents might be getting ready for winter outdoor recreation activities. While it may be getting colder, the ponds in Guilford won’t ready for skaters any time soon and residents are advised to stay off the ice.

Parks & Recreation Director Rick Maynard said despite the recent snowstorm and a few below-freezing days, little to no ice has formed on Mill Pond and signs are going up around the pond reminding people it is not cleared for skating.

“They should never ever go on Mill Pond if we don’t have the sign saying you can and we only allow skating when we have skate guards there,” he said. “People need to pay attention to that because the ice may look thick and safe, but there could be a lot of reasons why it is closed—maybe it isn’t thick enough, maybe there is water on the ice, maybe we haven’t cleared it off enough, maybe the ice is soft.”

Maynard said the department generally doesn’t open the pond until there is about five inches of block ice—ice that is formed by pure frozen water, not snow that has thawed out and refrozen. To get that much ice, the temperature needs to stay below freezing for about 8 to 10 days. Maynard said that under those conditions, about half an inch of ice can form a day.

“We don’t just guess at it and we check it several times a week when we get to that season where it is starting to get close to being safe,” Maynard said.

Over the past few years it has been difficult to open Mill Pond due to warmer winters. Maynard said there was no skating last year and the pond only opened for one day the year before. However, Maynard said there have been some good years with up to 20 days of skating. If enough ice forms for people to skate, Maynard said residents need to let town workers take care of the ice.

“We don’t want people to clear it,” he said. “This happened one year where somebody went out and cleared off a certain area and they left the snow piled on the ice and then that pile re-froze and left it unusable for the rest of the year. Town crews will clear it off. We appreciate volunteers wanting to do that, but if they don’t do it the right way, it really messes up the ice.”

Maynard said he is always conservative when it comes to opening the pond because he wants to be sure everyone is safe—a precaution he encourages residents to take if they have a pond on their own property before they try to skate on it.

“Safety is the primary concern,” he said. “We want to be sure that if we are going to open that pond for skating, that we are very confident that it can support the weight of possibly up to 200 people on there.”

When and if the pond does open, supervisors will be out tending to the bonfire, making sure everyone is safe, and ensuring hockey players and recreational skaters share the ice.

Signs will be posted to indicate if the ice is open. Residents can also contact the Parks & Recreation Department at 203-453-8068 for updates.