MOSES LAKE — Maybe it’s not official, but winter is here – which is not all bad, because Moses Lake’s municipal ice rink is opening Friday.

The rink opens for the winter at 4 p.m., said Tom Los, the city’s recreation supervisor. Hours for public ice skating will be 4 to 8 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 2 to 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Admission is $3 for adults who bring their own skates, $2 for kids (ages 5-17) and seniors (65 years of age and older), free for kids 4 years of age and younger, with their own skates. Admission is $6 for adults who rent skates, $5 for everybody else renting skates.

Season passes are available. “They start at $35 to $75 for unlimited use based on age and if you need skate rentals.” Season passes can be purchased online at the parks and rec website, “and you can get your picture taken for your pass once we open.”

Parks and rec also offers a punch card, with prices depending on age and the need for skate rentals. Punch card prices are $15 to $55. “The punch card option can be used for multiple people and is good for the season.”

The 2017-18 skate season comes with a few upgrades and an improved service. “The old skate shack and deck was removed and we built a brand new skate shack inside the building (Larson rec center),” Los wrote. “We’re also in the process of completely redoing the parking lot.”

Since skating (like all activities) is more fun with properly working equipment, parks and rec officials also bought a new skate sharpener. It’s “hands free and automatic,” Los said. “The rink staff just puts your skate in the machine and in a few minutes your skates are sharp.” Skate sharpening will be more consistent, “and because it’s so simple, all our staff can sharpen skates. In the past we only had a few employees that could sharpen skates.” Price to sharpen skates is $5 per pair.

Parks and rec officials are partnering with the Moses Lake Youth Hockey Association to offer a beginning hockey program for children ages 3-11. In fact, it proved so popular it’s already full for 2017-18. “We created this for kids to try hockey at a really affordable price, to see if it’s something they would like to do. Before this there has always been a large investment to purchase gear and registration fees,” Los wrote.