Sault Ste. Marie has its skate path in Clergue park,  Timmins is not doing the Hollinger Skate Park this year,  but people in Sudbury will eventually once again have two choices for skating fun.

The city-run skating oval in the downtown area is open.

People are lacing up their skates and enjoying every minute on the Queen Street oval after if officially opened on boxing day.

City officials say this year, the maintenance crew made the skating path one third wider, so more people can enjoy themselves.

"It starts with a lot of work by hand, so starting off by building the banks and freezing them to keep the water in, so when we have rain or mild weather the rain stays within the oval and it helps it to refreeze and then they just take advantage of the cold temperatures, flooding by hand, trying to make the surface as smooth as possible and then fine tuning with a Zamboni, " said Pam Cranston, Parks Services Manager for the city of Greater Sudbury.

Officials want to remind skaters that there are rules that have to be followed.

"We want to avoid having shinny, hockey or ringette on the rink.  The skating oval is uh, we want to provide a safe facility for citizens uh so we just ask people to respect one another and have a safe and enjoyable time." said Cranston

Here are some individuals who skate there on a regular basis:

"I feel like, we live in Northern Ontario right? You might as well get out and take advantage of everything our climate has to offer, we tend to like to engage in our community and it's just down the street for us, so it's nice to get out and enjoy some winter fun."

"Yah, it's nice fresh weather, it is really cold but aside from that, it's a good skate. Itry to get here two or three times a week."

"I think it's one of the exciting Northern activities that Sudbury has to offer. It's a ritual to come every year, Iusedto be a figure skater so Ilike to get out and practice"

"It's really fun because it's really slippery and Ireally,  really like that. and Ithink this is the best skating of my life"

And while the QueenStreetoval is now open for skating 7 days a week… it's always subject to weather conditions, and sometimes closes if it gets too mild.

As for Sudbury's other popular skating venue, city officials say the Ramsey Lake skate path will begin being prepared in mid to late January.