NORTHAMPTON — After several years without it, Look Park is bringing back its ice skating rink for residents to enjoy, as winter weather finally ramps up after a warm December.

The rink, which measures 40 feet by 80 feet in size, will be located behind the park’s Garden House, in order to ensure proper access to parking amenities for those looking to skate.

Mark Penney, the newly appointed director of operations at Look Park, said putting in the rink was a priority for him when he first took on the position last March.

“It’s something that I’m passionate about. I’ve been a backyard rink builder for the last six or seven years for my family,” Penney said. “I’ve played hockey and skated my whole life. Years ago, people would look forward to coming to the park to skate on the lake.”

Skating rinks at the park have been attempted before, most recently in 2016, but they hadn’t been able to make something permanently stick. Penney hopes to change that this winter.

“It needs to be in a flat, level area, and we wanted to have it somewhere where visitors could come and park and have access to the bathrooms behind the visitor center,” Penney said of the rink. “We chose to do it right behind our garden house, in the grassy area where the swimming pool used to be many years ago, so it’s an area that’s been used for space before.”

As the park had previously attempted to open a rink, it already had most of the materials needed to construct the rink, such as boards to encircle the area and brackets to hold them upright. All that was needed to purchase was a liner, a tarp surface to put over the rink area to coat with water to freeze.

In addition, Penney has devised his own homemade version of the “Zamboni,” the machine used to clean and smooth sheet ice at hockey games.

“I call it a ‘home-boni,’ ” Penney said. “It’s just magical to watch it turn from crusty snow to a clean, beautiful sheet of ice right before your eyes.”

Though the park announced that it had built the rink several days ago, it had been unable to open due to warm weather conditions. Penney said he would keep the park’s social media page updated throughout the winter to keep people informed on when the rink would be open for use.

The park also posted several rules regarding the rink, such as not allowing hockey sticks or pucks, and food and beverages will also not be allowed on the rink. Children 12 or under must also be accompanied by an adult when using the rink.

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.