Toledo, Ohio, Has a Winter Riverfront Ice Skating Trail

During the winter, Toledo’s Glass City Metropark offers a 1,000-foot-long ice skating path called “The Ribbon,” plus other fun seasonal activities and amenities like nighttime sledding and heated cabanas.

When you think of winter travel, you probably think of ski vacations to Colorado or holiday shopping in New York City. Chances are the mid-sized city of Toledo, Ohio, isn’t on your winter travel radar—and that may be a mistake.

After an over $200 million investment, the city transformed the former industrial zone along the Maumee River into a year-round recreation hub in 2024. Come winter, visitors get to enjoy one of the park’s coolest features, The Ribbon: a 1,000-foot-long ice skating trail that winds along the river and connects to a 5,000-square-foot skating pond.

A handful of cabanas with fire pits and heaters run along one portion of the trail, providing the perfect end to an evening skate. You can reserve a cabana in advance and enjoy refreshments like pizza and carafes of hot cocoa. Ice skate rentals are also included with a cabana reservation.

The ice skating season runs from mid-November to mid-March, when The Ribbon is open daily for skaters to enjoy the Ohio winter months.

The Ribbon and its neighboring amenities are just one of the many features found at Glass City Metropark. The park has three play areas, including one that’s built around a 41-foot-tall tower featuring climbing nets and a slide. If you’re not into ice skating, the park also has a nearby hill for sledding, which is lit up at night for after-dark fun.

The entire Glass City Metropark is across the river from downtown Toledo, offering views of the city skyline, the Maumee River, and three Toledo bridges: Veterans Memorial Skyway, Martin Luther King Bridge, and Anthony Wayne Bridge.

The Glass City Metropark is part of the larger Glass City Riverwalk project, which is still underway and expected to be finished in 2030. When complete, the full project will include 300 acres of riverfront greenway connected via a five-mile mixed-use trail. It will also link six Toledo neighborhoods on both sides of the Maumee River and ensure that every home in the county is within five miles of a park.