Native Minnesotans often take them for granted, but the free ice-skating rinks that dot our public park systems are a wonderful local asset. Best of all, there's always one within walking distance, which makes arguing over which rink is best sort of beside the point. Still, there's something to be said about the free skate rental—yes, you read that correctly—at Van Cleve Park, just off Como in Southeast. Van Cleve was the beneficiary of a large donation of skates, and therefore rents them at the totally unreasonable rate of nothing. The park itself is a nice slab of green (or white) snuggled next to the train tracks and beneath the looming gaze of the abandoned Bunge elevator. Its rinks—open from the first freeze through President's Day—are well maintained, and their proximity to student rental properties means you'll find plenty of recently retired high school hockey players cruising for a pickup game. But the multiple rinks means there's also plenty of room for you to practice your twirls and salchows.