Cold Weather Brings Business and Excitement for Outdoor Weather Activities

These colder temperatures have been great for outdoor activities for many around Northern Michigan.

The Walloon Village Ice Skating Rink is finally ready to open Tuesday night and tackle and bait shops are seeing an increase in business for ice fishing to get started.

9 & 10’s Blayke Roznowski and photojournalist Erin Malone heard from businesses hoping the cold is here to stay.

"You kind of rely on Mother Nature to kind of keep you going or not going," Barrel Back Restaurant general manager Rob Scully said.

The drop in temperatures means more outdoor winter sports, like ice skating, can finally get started.

"Now that it’s finally cold, we were able to work on the ice rink last week and then over these past couple of days, it finally got to the point where we can actually use it," Scully said.

Workers have been smoothing out the surface of the the Walloon Village Ice Skating Rink so it’s ready for skaters Tuesday night. The Barrel Back Restaurant maintains the rink and says it’s good for them too.

"It definitely brings some families in when kids come, in fact, the phone has been ringing off the hook this week wanting to know when we’re opening it," Scully said. 

While the ice rinks are starting freeze over, the lakes aren’t there just yet. Some spots are still really thin, but the cold weather does have people excited to get out ice fishing soon.

"It’s getting a little bit colder," Harbor General store assistant manager William Quaglia said. "It’s still not safe to be out on the ice right now, but with the colder nights coming and hopefully, they say you want at least a good six inches out there."

At the Harbor General Store, they’ve slowly but surely seen more customers looking for ice fishing gear. They want the cold to stay for good.

"I’m happy to see the cold," Quaglia said. "I mean it brings business up here. It brings business into the store and this is what we want. This is Northern Michigan. This is what people look forward."