Rink change area: The changerooms are converted swimming pool changerooms, it feels like a maze although signs have been put up to direct skaters. Lockers are available. Parking is available on the east and west sides of the rink, the west side is closer to the rink. No windows to the rink (no windows at all).

To book permits call Palma Di Paolo at 416 394-5595 or e-mail her at [email protected]

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Comments about this rink: e-mail us at [email protected].

Rink Diary

2022 - 2023

Jan.13, 2023

The skate lending library pop-up is scheduled to be at High Park rink from 1 to 8 pm today.

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Rink diaries from earlier years:

2021 - 2022

Nov.27 2021

Opened for the season

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2020 - 2021

COVID-RELATED RESTRICTIONS: To find out how to book a skating time, go to the city's outdoor rinks web page.
All shinny hockey has been removed except for Greenwood (and only children and youth are allowed there). The city's opening rules are described here and our rinks blog is here.

Nov.28, 2020

opened for the season

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2019 - 2020

No reports

2018 - 2019

NO reports

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2017 - 2018

Nov.24, 2017

September 11, 2017

A letter was sent to the city councillor, offering a donation of a complete skate loan collection for this rink.

Our reasons:
* people love to borrow skates: newcomers, school classes, kids and youth who grew out of their skates
* we have 110 pairs of skates, 20 hockey sticks, 20 helmets to donate
* this kind of program has been done by city staff for 12 years at Dufferin Rink, 9 years at Wallace and Campbell -- lots of experienced staff, each one teach one
* staff often have time on their hands to lend skates and also to maintain skates
* the city has insurance that can cover this (the city is self-insured under $5 million anyway), but skate lending programs are rarely threatened with a claim if they do responsible skate maintenance.

Offer declined.

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2016 - 2017

Nov.23, 2016

At 11.30 a.m. the rink was clean and had a microscopic layer of ice on it. The foreperson explained that they have to begin with a very thin layer of water, slowly adding more layers. Progress! She also said they hadn't started earlier because there were lots of leaves in the rink and they first had to be removed. Better late than never. In fact, there were two workers with leaf blowers still moving the leaves further away to the north of the rinks.

The tent for the zamboni is exactly as in other years. The rink staff said that this year they would be flooding at night, not in the daytime. Progress again. It will still be a cliffhanger, though, since there are only three nights left before the rinks are scheduled to open. One of the other staff said that maybe the weather wouldn't be cold enough to open on time. Same old excuse....

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2015 -2016

March 11, 2016

The rink was scheduled to stay open until March 20 but it was closed for the season this afternoon.

Feb.15, 2016

Five days ago, CUPE Local 79 sent out an invitation to members of all the city unions, for a Family Day skating event at four city rinks. High Park was one of the locations:

Join us for a great skate on Family Day!

On February 15, Locals 79, 416 and 4948 are hosting skating parties at rinks across Toronto. It’s a great opportunity for you and your family to get a little ice time while showing the public our dedication and commitment to the quality public services that make Toronto a great place to live.

The skating events will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.on Monday, February 15, at the following rinks:

Nathan Phillips Square, Mel Lastman Square, Scarborough Civic Centre and High Park.

There will be free hot chocolate, visits for the kids from some Minions and maybe even a Storm Trooper or two, and lots of fun.

But at 10.45 there was no event there and the staff said they hadn't heard of any plans.

January 1, 2016

The city's website has a blank on New Year's Day, for High Park rink. That would normally mean it was closed, but it wasn't -- both the ice surface and the change rooms/washrooms were open. The staff said the rink had been left open all night from New Year's Eve, on purpose. The staff were assigned from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today. Then the change room would be locked but the ice would stay open for the rest of the night again.

There are logos everywhere -- on the boards and along the slippery, ice walkway. The images are strangely ugly, seen close up.

Dec.29, 2015

Last night's heavy snow, supersaturated with rain as well, closed all the rinks citywide for the day. High Park rink was listed as open at 5.30 p.m. -- one of the first four rinks to re-open.

Dec.26, 2015

Despite the rink supervisor's misplaced anxiety about losing the ice in warm late-December visit, the rink was able to re-open easily on Boxing Day, and probably would have been fine on Christmas Day as well.

Dec.23, 2015

At 8 pm the hockey side is closed, but there are quite a few people on the pleasure-skating side, and their ice looks good. There's just one wet corner, which the zamboni driver has barriered off, worried that it's going down to cement.

The rink supervisor is there. He says this warm weather is making it impossible for them to keep the ice in good shape, no matter how hard they try. He's worried that the warm spell tomorrow will mean three days to get the ice in good shape again.

The zamboni driver said that the hockey ice was actually not bad, but he wasn't letting anyone on it to keep skates from scraping off ice, to protect it for tomorrow.

Dec.17 2015

The "rink status report" seems to suggest that High Park had a power outage sometime today and had to close for a time, was expected to re-open about 9 pm.

Dec.14 2015

A warm day, 10 celsius by 10.30 a.m. But the ice was holding up well.

Sunday Nov.29, 2015

The rink guard said that despite the warm weather and periods of sunshine, the ice has held up well at High Park, just a few pylons near the sunny side of the boards, and even there, the ice under the melt-water is solid.

Nov.25 2015

Even though it's only Wednesday, and some of the rinks due to open on Saturday haven't even started making ice yet, High Park has a good layer already.

See Diaries tab

Views of the rink

From The City of Toronto Website 2014-15

For the skating schedule, go to High Park, then click on drop-in programs then click on Skating.

Rink Diary

2022 - 2023

Jan.13, 2023

The skate lending library pop-up is scheduled to be at High Park rink from 1 to 8 pm today.

---

Rink diaries from earlier years:

2021 - 2022

Nov.27 2021

Opened for the season

---

2020 - 2021

COVID-RELATED RESTRICTIONS: To find out how to book a skating time, go to the city's outdoor rinks web page.
All shinny hockey has been removed except for Greenwood (and only children and youth are allowed there). The city's opening rules are described here and our rinks blog is here.

Nov.28, 2020

opened for the season

---

2019 - 2020

No reports

2018 - 2019

NO reports

---

2017 - 2018

Nov.24, 2017

September 11, 2017

A letter was sent to the city councillor, offering a donation of a complete skate loan collection for this rink.

Our reasons:
* people love to borrow skates: newcomers, school classes, kids and youth who grew out of their skates
* we have 110 pairs of skates, 20 hockey sticks, 20 helmets to donate
* this kind of program has been done by city staff for 12 years at Dufferin Rink, 9 years at Wallace and Campbell -- lots of experienced staff, each one teach one
* staff often have time on their hands to lend skates and also to maintain skates
* the city has insurance that can cover this (the city is self-insured under $5 million anyway), but skate lending programs are rarely threatened with a claim if they do responsible skate maintenance.

Offer declined.

---

2016 - 2017

Nov.23, 2016

At 11.30 a.m. the rink was clean and had a microscopic layer of ice on it. The foreperson explained that they have to begin with a very thin layer of water, slowly adding more layers. Progress! She also said they hadn't started earlier because there were lots of leaves in the rink and they first had to be removed. Better late than never. In fact, there were two workers with leaf blowers still moving the leaves further away to the north of the rinks.

The tent for the zamboni is exactly as in other years. The rink staff said that this year they would be flooding at night, not in the daytime. Progress again. It will still be a cliffhanger, though, since there are only three nights left before the rinks are scheduled to open. One of the other staff said that maybe the weather wouldn't be cold enough to open on time. Same old excuse....

---

2015 -2016

March 11, 2016

The rink was scheduled to stay open until March 20 but it was closed for the season this afternoon.

Feb.15, 2016

Five days ago, CUPE Local 79 sent out an invitation to members of all the city unions, for a Family Day skating event at four city rinks. High Park was one of the locations:

Join us for a great skate on Family Day!

On February 15, Locals 79, 416 and 4948 are hosting skating parties at rinks across Toronto. It’s a great opportunity for you and your family to get a little ice time while showing the public our dedication and commitment to the quality public services that make Toronto a great place to live.

The skating events will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.on Monday, February 15, at the following rinks:

Nathan Phillips Square, Mel Lastman Square, Scarborough Civic Centre and High Park.

There will be free hot chocolate, visits for the kids from some Minions and maybe even a Storm Trooper or two, and lots of fun.

But at 10.45 there was no event there and the staff said they hadn't heard of any plans.

January 1, 2016

The city's website has a blank on New Year's Day, for High Park rink. That would normally mean it was closed, but it wasn't -- both the ice surface and the change rooms/washrooms were open. The staff said the rink had been left open all night from New Year's Eve, on purpose. The staff were assigned from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today. Then the change room would be locked but the ice would stay open for the rest of the night again.

There are logos everywhere -- on the boards and along the slippery, ice walkway. The images are strangely ugly, seen close up.

Dec.29, 2015

Last night's heavy snow, supersaturated with rain as well, closed all the rinks citywide for the day. High Park rink was listed as open at 5.30 p.m. -- one of the first four rinks to re-open.

Dec.26, 2015

Despite the rink supervisor's misplaced anxiety about losing the ice in warm late-December visit, the rink was able to re-open easily on Boxing Day, and probably would have been fine on Christmas Day as well.

Dec.23, 2015

At 8 pm the hockey side is closed, but there are quite a few people on the pleasure-skating side, and their ice looks good. There's just one wet corner, which the zamboni driver has barriered off, worried that it's going down to cement.

The rink supervisor is there. He says this warm weather is making it impossible for them to keep the ice in good shape, no matter how hard they try. He's worried that the warm spell tomorrow will mean three days to get the ice in good shape again.

The zamboni driver said that the hockey ice was actually not bad, but he wasn't letting anyone on it to keep skates from scraping off ice, to protect it for tomorrow.

Dec.17 2015

The "rink status report" seems to suggest that High Park had a power outage sometime today and had to close for a time, was expected to re-open about 9 pm.

Dec.14 2015

A warm day, 10 celsius by 10.30 a.m. But the ice was holding up well.

Sunday Nov.29, 2015

The rink guard said that despite the warm weather and periods of sunshine, the ice has held up well at High Park, just a few pylons near the sunny side of the boards, and even there, the ice under the melt-water is solid.

Nov.25 2015

Even though it's only Wednesday, and some of the rinks due to open on Saturday haven't even started making ice yet, High Park has a good layer already.

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Diary 2010 - 2011, Rink Diary 2009 - 2010,Diary 2008-2009, Diary 2007 -2008, RinkDiary2006-2007, Rink Diary 2004 - 2005