The City is thrilled to announce that the highly anticipated Riverside Park outdoor skating facility will officially open to the public on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, at 10:00 am, offering residents and visitors a vibrant, accessible, and inclusive outdoor recreation experience in the heart of the city.

To celebrate the opening of this exciting community amenity, the City will host a grand opening event on Saturday, January 17, 2026, from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, at Riverside Park. The event will feature food trucks, special guests, skate rentals, and more, welcoming community members of all ages to enjoy an afternoon of winter fun.

Designed with accessibility and year-round usability in mind, the Riverside Park outdoor skating facility provides a barrier-free, curbless entry, ensuring participation is available to all. The rink will operate for unsupervised daily use throughout the winter season, 10:00 am to 9:00 pm, Sunday through Thursday, with extended hours until 10:00 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Admission is free. Outside of winter, the unfrozen concrete pad will be used as a walking path and for other recreational uses.

“The Riverside Park outdoor skating facility will serve as a lively, welcoming hub for winter recreation,” said Jeff Putnam, the City’s Parks and Streets Manager. “We’re excited to invite the community to celebrate this new addition, which enhances the vitality and livability of Kamloops year-round.”

Funded through a $7.16 million Growing Communities Fund grant to support infrastructure projects that enable community growth, the facility features a refrigerated ice surface that maintains high-quality skating conditions when outdoor temperatures are below 8°C. This system supports an operational season of approximately four months, typically from December through March, weather permitting.

“Families, friends, and visitors can enjoy winter together in a safe, accessible space, thanks to the new skating facility,” said Christine Boyle, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs. “Investments like this strengthen community connections and create opportunities for everyone to stay active and have fun outdoors. I’m pleased to see Kamloops is using its Growing Communities Fund to make the city an even more vibrant and inclusive place to live.”

Visitors can enjoy firepits equipped with safety features, ambient lighting, rubberized walkways, flexible seating and tables, and a designated food truck zone to support community events and gatherings.

The outdoor skating facility project follows recent enhancements that were made to the park as part of the Riverside Park Improvements Project, which began in 2021. These upgrades a state-of-the-art accessible playground and spray park, a new year-round change room and washroom building, flood mitigation and beautification work, paved and widened portions of the Rivers Trail, and an accessible beach mat to support individuals requiring mobility assistance.

The new facility is designed for drop-in skating and is not intended for hockey use. For hockey activities, the recently opened mini rink at McArthur Island Sport and Event Centre provides a smaller, age-appropriate ice surface that supports skill development and aligns with Hockey Canada’s best practices.