You can go for a skate, as well as a coffee or burger, if you're heading north for the holidays.
An NHL-sized outdoor skating rink is opening behind the popular Webers and Starbucks location on Highway 11.
Webers manager Tineke Whelan said the rink is the brainstorm of Tom Rennie, who owns both the burger and coffee shops.
“The owner had this great idea,” she said, noting the rink should be operating soon since the land has been levelled, the rink pad and lights have been installed and the 10-inch boards are in place.
“It has NHL dimensions because Tom likes to go big or go home.”
While Whelan declined to disclose the project’s cost, she said the move should not only help drum up extra business during the slower winter months, but also provide area residents as well as those passing by with something fun to do.
“We’re trying to get families out, kids out,” she said, adding there’s no cost to use the facility.
“It’s nice to have something to do. I hope to get my nieces and nephew out for a skate. It’s a fun, free activity.”
Whelan also noted that Starbucks has a large deck that overlooks the 85-foot by 200-foot ice surface should parents opt to watch their children skate while enjoying a latte.
“There are also two metal firepits to keep warm and benches around the rink,” she said, adding that they’re just waiting for a cold snap to start flooding the rink with hopes to soon have lots of skaters and serve lots of hot chocolate and Cake Pops over the coming months.
Gravenhurst resident Hunter Graham also loved the idea.
“Anytime there’s more things to do in Muskoka, especially in the winter, it’s wonderful,” Graham said as she awaited her Starbucks order during a weekend visit.
The rink will be open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., weather permitting. To find out whether it’s open and for any additional information, visit webers_starbucks on Instagram.