The City of Concord Parks and Recreation Department has this winter covered.
“We have always enjoyed a great quality of life in Concord, with parks in every neighborhood. During winter there are outdoor ice-skating areas, winter hiking and even groomed cross-country ski trails. There is so much to do in Concord and there’s no reason to be stuck inside. We encourage everyone to be active this winter and there's lots of ways to do that," said Parks and Recreation Director David Gill.
“For over 75 years the city has maintained White Park Pond for free ice skating during the winter and that continues this winter," said Gill. “The department also maintains outdoor skating areas at Rollins Park and the Beaver Meadow Golf Course. When we have snow there are also many areas to take advantage of free cross-country skiing in Concord.” The Merrimack Lodge at White Park will be open again this winter with skate rentals when the pond is open for ice skating.
Ski trails at Memorial Field and White Farm are maintained by volunteers from the Capital Ski and Outing Club while the trails at Beaver Meadow Golf Course are maintained by department staff.
Don’t want to play and enjoy the outdoors this winter? Don’t worry, as the department offers many indoor activities: indoor ice skating lessons, youth art classes, youth basketball leagues, family open gym, cooking classes, winter nature camps, adult indoor pickleball/basketball, and much more. The department offers more than 20 classes just for adults and senior citizens.
“We are very excited to continue to grow our adult and senior citizen programs, as more than 85 percent of our adult classes ran this fall, with many of the classes almost full,” said Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Laura Bryant. “With the opening of the City Wide Community Center three years ago, we have been able to increase our programs and activities for all ages. Our next session of classes starts in early January and registration is underway. Due to COVID, we have limited class sizes, so we highly recommend registering soon so you don’t miss out.”
The department also manages community centers throughout the city: the City Wide Community Center located on the Heights, the West Street Ward House located in the south end, the Green Street Community Center Gym located downtown, and the Merrimack Lodge at White Park. Each of these buildings are available for rent as well as being used for programming.
The City encourages everyone to make time to be engaged and active this winter by utilizing one of the many options available. For more information on indoor and outdoor opportunities offered by the Parks and Recreation Department, please visit the Concord Parks and Recreation website.
