In early November, the Rink at Stine Community Park is still in its off-season mode. Roller skating is free for drop-ins from 8 am to 10 pm daily, Rec Radio plays over the surface, and the Great Hall under the pavilion offers seating to anyone who shows up first. You bring your own skates, staffing is limited, and the city recommends helmets and pads.
That changes soon. The city's Rink page says roller skating closes later in November so crews can get the surface ready for ice. Between that closure and opening night, the rink sits quiet. After that, nearly every public winter event Troy Recreation runs is built around the ice: when it opens, which hours it's set aside for events, and whether the weather lets it stay open.
A Rink That Is Still New
Jeanne M. Stine Community Park at 241 Town Center Drive opened in 2022, when the Troy Farmers Market moved there. The park also holds the Troy Skate Park, the Troy Community Foundation Performing Arts Stage and a park shelter that can be rented in summer. The rink and pavilion came later. C&G News reported a grand opening on June 13, 2024. Construction started in 2023, and C&G put the project at roughly $10 million, paid for by the city capital fund, American Rescue Plan Act money and the Troy Community Foundation.
OHM Advisors, the project's design consultant, describes it as a mass-timber pavilion beside a refrigerated skating ribbon, with Zamboni storage and a separate music pavilion. This will be the rink's third ice season, since the opening winter came in late 2024, and the city now repeats its signature events every year. The Polar Party on December 12 is billed as the 3rd annual.
The rink sits on the Civic Center campus, north of the Troy Community Center, on the same campus as the Troy Public Library. That placement explains why so much of the winter schedule involves both the rink and the Community Center.
Opening Night Is the Tree Lighting
The ice season and the tree lighting open together. The Annual Holiday Tree Lighting on Friday, December 4, is the first night of the ice season. It runs 5 to 9 pm, and the ceremony starts at 6:30.
Mayor Ethan Baker and City Council will light the tree with Santa. Music comes from the Athens Concert and Treble Choirs and the Troy Colt Drumline. After the ceremony there's skating, photos with Santa, and hot cocoa, coffee and Timbits while they last. Admission is free with no registration. Skate rentals and concessions open at 5 pm.
The city lists the full season, December 4, 2026 through February 28, 2027, as tentative and dependent on weather. Once the ice opens, regular hours look like this:
- Monday through Thursday, 3 to 8 pm
- Friday, 3 to 9 pm
- Saturday, 11 am to 9 pm
- Sunday, 11 am to 8 pm
Skating is free if you bring your own skates. Rentals are $3 for residents and $5 for nonresidents, children under 3 rent free, and sizes run from youth through adult 13. Anyone who can't show proper ID pays the nonresident rate, and the rink doesn't give refunds. Concessions are open Friday through Sunday and over holiday breaks, with coffee and hot chocolate at $3.
Families heading over in December should know the age rules. Skaters 16 and up show photo ID, 13- to 15-year-olds without an adult show a school ID, and children 12 and under need an adult with them.
December Hours Are Set Around Events and School Break
The weekday schedule above is the default. In December, the rink's hours shift around city events and school break. The city posts these adjusted hours:
| Date | Rink hours | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Dec. 4 | 5–9 pm | Holiday Tree Lighting |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | 11 am–3 pm, 5–8 pm | Closed 3–5 pm to set up Polar Party |
| Mon., Dec. 21 | 11 am–3 pm, 6–8 pm | Capes & Skates in the afternoon |
| Tue.–Wed., Dec. 22–23 | 11 am–8 pm | School break |
| Thu., Dec. 24 | 11 am–3 pm | Christmas Eve |
| Fri., Dec. 25 | Closed | Christmas |
| Mon.–Wed., Dec. 28–30 | 11 am–8 pm | School break |
| Thu., Dec. 31 | 11 am–3 pm | New Year's Eve |
| Fri., Jan. 1 | Closed | New Year's Day |
The busiest entries are the event days. On December 12, public skating stops for two hours in the middle of a Saturday so the rink can be set up for the Polar Party. On December 21, the open-skate break in the afternoon covers Capes & Skates, a superhero-themed program for ages 6 to 9 that runs 3:30 to 5:30 pm. It costs $15 for residents and $20 for nonresidents and includes a craft, skating, cocoa and a visit from Batguy. Registration is required.
The Polar Party Uses Both Buildings
The free Polar Party is Saturday, December 12, from 5 to 8 pm. It runs at the Rink and at the Troy Community Center, 3179 Livernois, at the same time. Activities include open swim, bounce houses, crafts, games and skating.
On New Year's Eve, the rink and the Community Center take turns. The ice closes at 3 pm on December 31, and at 3 pm the Community Center starts its New Year's Eve Day Out. That program runs until 6 pm for kids ages 3 to 12, with gym and swim time. It costs $5 for residents and $7.50 for nonresidents.
Two more Community Center updates arrive at the same time. Starting December 1, new and returning members can buy Troy Community Center memberships online, and the winter guide notes that new treadmills went in during 2026.
Weather Has the Final Say
The ice is refrigerated, but it isn't covered, and the city's weather policy follows from that. The Rink page warns that rain, snow and other weather hit the uncovered ice hard, and that warm temperatures can melt it into puddles.
Troy Recreation may open late or close the rink if the air temperature or wind chill hits minus 15 degrees, if the National Weather Service issues a wind chill warning, if warm temperatures or sun soften the ice, or if heavy rain, thunderstorms or a severe snow or ice event makes the pavilion and ice unsafe. The city sends closure notices through Stine Park Alerts, which you can get by text or email. That's also how it plans to announce the November closure for ice prep.
The same weather rule covers the free Friday Theme Nights after the holidays. They run 6 to 9 pm with no registration, and every date is listed as weather permitting:
- Friday, Jan. 15: Millennial Night, 90s and 00s
- Friday, Jan. 29: Favorite Musicals
- Friday, Feb. 12: Date Skate
- Friday, Feb. 26: All Decades Hits
New this season, the Rink page also lists ice skating lessons covering gliding, stopping and spinning, for beginners and for skaters who want more confidence during open skate.
A Mile Away, the Historic Village Runs Its Own Calendar
Troy Historic Village, at 60 W. Wattles Road, isn't on the Civic Center campus. A Troy Trails segment of about a mile connects the two. Its December events don't depend on ice, and on some dates they line up closely with what's happening at Stine Park:
- Wednesday, Dec. 2, two days before the tree lighting, Watercolor Ornaments & Old Fashioneds runs 5:30 to 8 pm. It's an adults-only ornament-painting class with drinks and refreshments.
- Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 5 and 6, the weekend after the tree lighting, Cocoa & Crafts with Santa runs 11 am to 2 pm, with early access at 10 am for those who register ahead.
- Friday, Dec. 11, 6 to 8:30 pm, and Saturday, Dec. 12, 10 am to 1:30 pm and 6 to 8:30 pm, Victorian Christmas brings crafts, caroling, shopping and costumed historical presentations.
Saturday, December 12 is the busiest night of the season. The Polar Party runs 5 to 8 pm at the Rink and the Community Center, and Victorian Christmas opens its evening session at 6 pm a mile up the trail. Families who want both can plan around the rink's 3-to-5 setup closure: start at the Village in the morning, then skate in the evening once the Polar Party opens at 5.
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