From Ball Field to Ice Rink: Bar Harbor Gets Ready to Lace Up

Carrie Jones and Shaun Farrar

Jan 02, 2026

BAR HARBOR—The boards are up; the hoses are running, and Bar Harbor’s winter pastime is almost ready for its close-up at an in-town site once again.

A seasonal ice rink is taking shape on one of the town’s ball fields, with volunteers assembling the frame Friday morning and the fire department helping flood the surface, though skaters are being asked to keep their blades off the ice until it has time to properly freeze. It is expected to be ready early next week.

Witham Family Hotels Managing Director Jeremy Dougherty led volunteers as they assembled the 70-foot-by-90-foot rink this morning. Tim Rand, Todd Stanley, Tony Ricardo, and Patrick Murphy helped with the initial assembly, clearing the area and setting up the perimeter of the rink. The Bar Harbor Fire Department came in to assist filling the rink later in the afternoon. As of press time, it was still being filled.

The Bar Harbor Town Council approved the Bar Harbor Village Improvement Association’s (VIA) project earlier in December. Public Works Director Bethany Leavitt said the project is heavily supported by the Witham Family Hotels Charitable Fund. The cost to the town, she said, would be approximately $100.

The rink is on the diamond of ball field #3, which is close to a hydrant for filling and also close to a drainage pipe. There is more stable soil in the ball field rather than the grass area, Leavitt has previously explained.

Town Manager James Smith said Friday, “It will take a day or so for the ice to freeze and harden. We are anticipating it being ready for early next week.”

The town is working on a list of rules for use and Smith said that they will likely have them posted by Monday.

There had previously been ice skating in Bar Harbor proper at the Glen Mary pool area where there also wasn’t refrigeration coils under the ice. However, the wading pool (and winter rink) has been closed since 2022 due to broken piping beneath the ground. Leavitt has previously said the system was last upgraded in 2009, which was before Leavitt’s time in Bar Harbor. The pool is within Glen Mary Park, which is located on 7.5 acres off Glen Mary Road and Waldron Road. The new Glen Mary Pool design will not include ice skating.

The rink is a gift to the town from the VIA financed through the Witham Family Hotels Charitable Fund.

“I think it’s a really gracious gift from the Witham family and we should accept it with open arms,” Parks and Recreation Committee Chair Greg Veilleux said last month.

Liddy Hubbell, a member of the VIA board, said it’s expected that the ball field site will be used each year to seasonally host the rink.

The town and the organizers of the rink ask that people not skate on the rink until it is publicized to be open for use.

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Unless otherwise specified, all photos Shaun Farrar.

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