Petoskey Winter Sports Park review, pics, and 2025 info. WSP is located near downtown Petoskey and is dedicated to hockey, recreational skating, sledding, snowboarding, curling and more. Admission to Winter Sports Park is FREE. Winter Sports Park is now open for the 2025 Winter Season. The Park usually opens in mid-late December and stays open through mid-March (weather permitting).
Petoskey Winter Sports Park Review / Info
Petoskey Winter Sports park is one of my favorite places to travel to when I’m “Up North”. If we had something like it in Oakland County, I’m sure we’d appreciate the Winters “downstate” a bit more. Every time I visit with my family, I always think to myself “well, maybe Winter isn’t quite so bad”.
Petoskey Winter Sports Park is open to the public and offers ice skating, a designated ski area for skiers and snowboarders, a nice sized sledding hill, a hockey rink/curling arena, and a cozy warming house that sells concessions. The hockey rink is open for pick up hockey games unless curling is going on.
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Admission to the Park is FREE. They also have some sleds available to loan out if you need one. There is a fee for skate rental.
The Warming House inside Winter Sports Park Petoskey is a gem. Inside the warming house, there is a fireplace, tables, TV, restrooms, concession stand with food available for purchase (hot chocolate, hot dogs, popcorn, pretzels, etc.), and free wireless internet. Once you get your ice skates off, you’ll want to stay around.
Board games are available to checkout and a campfire area is available on the weekends, weather permitting. During the summer months the park houses kids camps and Tee Ball. There are also three basketball hoops for pickup games. The City uses the park during the summer for Parks & Rec summer camps.
Winter Sports Park is typically open from late December to mid-March, depending on the weather. Some features may need to close (e.g. ice rink if it’s too warm) while others may remain open. The Winter Sports Park website provides updates on what is up and running, and what features of the park are closed due to weather conditions.
Birthday parties are also allowed during regular hours. If interested, contact the Department of Parks and Recreation at 231-347-1252.
Petoskey Winter Carnival 2025
Petoskey used to host a Winter Carnival and Petoskey Winter Sports Park, but I don’t think they’ve hosted one for the past few years… either due to Weather or covid and we’re hoping it comes back.
Each winter the park hosts a 1-day Petoskey Winter Carnival full of events that showcase the park. There are sledding competitions, figure skating demos, cardboard sled races, hockey games, and more. The event is usually called Petoskey Winter Carnival but they’re calling it Return to Winter Fun Day and for 2025, it is on Saturday, February 15. The annual event usually takes place the Saturday of President’s Day Weekend. A complete schedule events can be found on the Winter Sports Park website.
I think people in Petoskey, Harbor Springs, and the surrounding area take their winters for granted. It seems like the locals don’t appreciate the park as much as they should. It gets plenty of use, but I just don’t think locals think of it like the crown jewel I think it is. A park like this would be very popular in Oakland County if we had something like it.
Petoskey Winter Sports Park
1100 Winter Park Lane, Petoskey, MI 49770
Phone – 231-347-1252 Winter, 231-347-2500 Summer
Website – www.petoskey.us/departments/parks_and_recreation/winter_sports_park.php
Park Hours (weather permitting)
Monday – Friday 3p-8p
Saturday and Sunday noon-8p
If the local schools have a break, the park opens earlier on the weekdays during the school off days.
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For more info on Petoskey Winter Sports Park, visit www.petoskey.us/departments/parks_and_recreation/winter_sports_park.php
