Destinations USA This Midwest City Is One of the Best Places for the Holidays With Its New 1,000-foot-long Riverfront Ice Skating Trail, Night Sledding, and Heated Cabanas With Fire Pits Toledo, Ohio is the unlikely home of a new riverfront ice skating trail and night sledding. By Evie Carrick Evie Carrick Evie Carrick is a writer and editor who’s lived in five countries and visited well over 50. She now splits her time between Colorado and Paris, ensuring she doesn't have to live without skiing or L'As du Fallafel. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines Published on October 24, 2024 Close People ice skating at The Ribbon, Glass City, Toledo . Photo: Douglas R. Hinebaugh/Courtesy of Metroparks Toledo When you think of winter travel, you probably think of ski vacations to Colorado or holiday shopping in New York City. Chances are the mid-sized city of Toledo, Ohio, isn't on your winter travel radar — and that may be a mistake. The city is investing over $200 million to turn a former riverfront industrial zone into a year-round recreation hub. One of the coolest features for winter visitors is The Ribbon, a 1,000-foot-long ice skating trail that winds along the river and leads to an adjacent 5,000-square-foot skating pond. A handful of cabanas with fire pits and heaters run along one portion of the trail, providing the perfect end to an evening skate. You can reserve a cabana in advance and get food delivered by the nearby fast-casual restaurant, The Garden by Poco Piatti. The restaurant, beer garden, equipment rentals (including skates), restrooms, and lockers are found in the park’s new Market Hall building. Snowmageddon sledding Finals at Glass City, Toledo. Douglas R. Hinebaugh/Courtesy of Metroparks Toledo The Ribbon's ice skating season is expected to open on Nov. 8 and run through early March. The trail is open daily except for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Ribbon and its neighboring amenities are just one of the many features found at the new Glass City Metropark, which was once an industrial zone. The park has two playgrounds that are winter-play friendly, including one that’s built around a 41-foot-tall tower featuring climbing nets and a slide. A sledding hill sits just southwest of The Ribbon and stays open through the dark for nighttime excursions. Aerial view of the The Ribbon ice skating trail at Glass City, Toledo. Courtesy of Metroparks Toledo The entire Glass City Metropark is across the river from downtown Toledo, offering views of the city skyline, the Maumee River, and three Toledo bridges: Veterans Memorial Skyway, Martin Luther King Bridge, and Anthony Wayne Bridge. The recently completed Glass City Metropark is part of the larger Glass City Riverwalk project, which is still underway and is expected to be finished in 2030. When it is complete, the full riverwalk project will include 300 acres of riverfront greenway connected via a five-mile multi-use trail. It will also link six Toledo neighborhoods on both sides of the Maumee River and ensure that every home in the county is within five miles of a park.