NJ lakes and ponds are frozen, but skating season isn’t here yet

It’s an actual mix of art and science when it comes to figuring out when a pond or lake is safe to skate on.

The science part comes with sustained below-freezing temperatures and the stillness of a body of water. The art comes into play from knowing the look, the sound and the feel of a certain pond or lake.

Moving water is always trickier and takes many more sustained days of below freezing temperatures. I actually skated on the Navesink River a few years back. I don’t think we’re quite there yet for this season's skating, but most of the smaller ponds and lakes are pretty safe.

The lake behind my house is about 3 to 4 feet deep throughout most of its mile-long stretch. The water does flow from one end into the other through a lock system. But generally, it’s not "moving" water.

After being cooped up in the house for over two weeks with the flu, I took the doctor's advice and got some fresh air on the lake yesterday. It felt amazing.

My daughter and I had a great time together. We even skated all the way down the lake to watch a group of men playing hockey. I gotta tell you, the skill level was pretty darn good for pond hockey.

If you’re thinking of going look for skate marks to see that people have already done it and if there aren’t any, go slow and be careful.

This week temperatures will hit the 40s by Tuesday but by next weekend we should be safely back below freezing for another great weekend of ice-skating and pond hockey. Enjoy!

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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