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Town Expects Horse Pond to be Lit, Available to Ice Skaters this Winter

Ice skaters reluctant to trek to the nearest ice skating rink in East Haven or Northford are in luck this year, as Madison’s only local, public pond suitable for ice skating is expected to be functional and available once the weather cools, thanks to favorable environmental conditions as well as town-provided lighting for late-night skate sessions.

The small, shallow pond named Horse Pond, located off Horse Pond Road just north of Town Campus, mysteriously drains or fills seemingly without cause, according to Beach & Recreation Director Scot Erksike, resulting in some winters that see not enough water to skate.

Another challenge has been lighting during the long dark nights of winter. Last year, Eversource was unable to bring power to the pond’s light poles, Erksine said, which didn’t stop some dedicated skaters, who brought their own lights and generators to the pond.

This season, Erksine said the popular skating destination should be good to go.

“Typically...it’s a really safe area because it’s typically maybe a foot and a half deep, two feet deep,” Erskine said, “so if you go through, you’re standing up to your knee.”

The popularity of the pond is due to its central location and the aforementioned safety and accessibility. Erskine said that as long as he has been in the town (since 1964), the pond has served as an ice-skating destination, and has also experienced the mysterious drainage.

Erksine detailed a handful of other areas around town that in the past have been used for ice skating. He said there are many other ponds that are administered by a particular housing association, or are only open to particular neighborhoods. He said it is up to those neighborhoods and associations as to who is allowed to use those ponds.

A pond behind Aquadome off Scotland Road had once been used by the public, Erksine, said, but that is no longer the policy. Similarly, a pond off Twilight Drive near Summer Hill Road has been closed to the public.

Erksine also cautioned that most, if not all other ponds in town are significantly deeper than Horse Pond, making the risk of falling through the ice much more dangerous.

Though weather conditions have not yet cooled enough for Horse Pond to freeze safely, Erskine said he and the Beach & Recreation Department would be monitoring the weather for when the pond will be safely frozen with adequate depth, at which point that information will be posted.