Public Sessions FAQs

Rink air temperature averages 40-60 degrees year round. Our lobby averages 70 degrees during warmer months. Dress in warm, comfortable clothing that will not restrict your movements (and dress in layers). Long pants and gloves or mittens recommended. Hats and helmets recommended for beginning skaters. Dressing in layers gives you the option of removing a layer if you get too warm. Don't forget a tall, thin pair of socks!

You must wear socks to rent skates. One pair of tall, thin socks recommended.

We recommend bringing a bicycle helmet for children and adults alike. We also have hundreds of loaner bike helmets sizes XS to XXL.

If you can walk, you can skate. We carry only quality skates with great ankle support.

Our café is typically open during most public skating sessions. We offer a variety of snacks and full meals as well as hot and cold beverages, including smoothies, coffee drinks, hot chocolate, beer and wine.

We do not permit outside food or beverages to be brought into Skatetown. Revenue from the café helps us keep our doors open.

No problem! As long as there's still room on the ice, you're welcome to join the session-in-progress for the remainder of the time.

Generally, children are able to skate once they are comfortable walking. We recommend age 5, but a lot of people start their kids earlier. Your child must be at least 3 years old to skate at Skatetown. We stock both double and single-bladed skates for young children. There is a section of the ice reserved for beginner skaters. This area is coned off from the rest of the rink. Young children can skate by themselves with the free skate aids (buckets) in the beginner section.

We carry hockey and figure rental skates from a child’s size 6 (typically 3-year-old children) all the way up to adult size 16, along with double-bladed skates for toddlers. Keep in mind that hockey skates have Canadian sizes on them so we’ll be suggesting a hockey skate that is two to three sizes smaller than your shoe size. Trust us on this one, otherwise you won't get the ankle support needed to skate well. As for 1/2 sizes, rental skates are not manufactured in 1/2 sizes. To help you find the right size, give the teammate at Skate Rental your current shoe size and you will be given the correct sized skate for your foot. If it’s not the perfect size, our guest service team will happily switch them out for you. We also rent Spiky’s for walking on the ice.

For children who would rather ride than skate, we have sleds that are piloted by an adult or a proficient skater. Your child must be able to sit upright to ride the sled (no car seats or stroller seats allowed). Gloves and warm clothing are recommended. We also recommend helmets and seatbelts for riders (provided by Skatetown). Sled rentals are $10. Admission is based on age of person riding the sled. A parent is required to sign a waiver of liability.

Zamboni intermissions may take place at any time during public sessions and are usually on the hour, depending on crowd size. Our ice is 1.5 to 2 inches thick. Our state-of-the-art, laser-guided ice resurfacer keeps the ice at a perfect thickness and so level that it makes the curlers (those crazy folks who throw rocks across the ice) very envious.

It is typically between 50-60 degrees; however, it does get colder from time to time so we recommend bringing a jacket or sweatshirt. In the Winter, we recommend dressing warm & bringing a blanket. Also, check out the ‘Lava Buns’ that are sold in our ProShop!

We offer coin-operated lockers. The cost is $1.00 for each use. Skatetown is not responsible for lost or stolen items.

Walk-in parties are not allowed. You are welcome to skate, but no food, beverages or gifts may be brought into the rink. Click on “Parties” for information on Skatetown-hosted birthdays. Formal birthday parties must be booked through Skatetown. Informal birthday parties, without cakes and presents, are welcome at any of our Public Skating Sessions, but they won’t be nearly as much fun as our “world famous” birthday parties!

WIFI is available throughout the facility, but it works best in our Café and bleachers.

Entertainment is provided during the Friday evening, Saturday/Sunday (2-5 sessions), as well as our Holiday sessions, where there are on-ice games (such as Limbo and Giant Dice); dances (Hokey Pokey, Cha Cha Slide, Macarena); laser light shows; music videos; live DJ; giant video screens where you can see yourself and your friends skating! There's also snow falling from the ceiling, disco lights and black lights.

Wheelchair users are welcome on the ice. You will need to be accompanied by an aide who will be able to walk on the ice in rubber-cleated spikeys (provided free of charge). For more details, CLICK HERE.

You can also rent a sled hockey sled for the same price as rental skates.

Figure or hockey skates can be rented for $3.50 or you can bring your own.

Yes. We have a large supply of buckets. When using buckets, make sure they are stacked waist high and keep the buckets in the bubbled-off section of Rink #1 by the café windows. We like buckets much better than the “walkers” we’ve had in the past as they can be stacked to the perfect height, which forces you to skate with the proper stride - and they are bright-colored and cheery!

  • Don't look down when skating — Newcomers to skating will oftentimes spend all their time looking at their feet rather than looking in the direction they are going. Keep your head up and look in front of you.
  • Don't lean backward when skating — Leaning back will likely send you flying on your backside — or worse. Keep your knees bent and your weight forward. Hold your arms out in front of you and open them wide to help you stay balanced.
  • Practice falling — Falling is part of the sport so it's natural that this will happen. If you are able to anticipate the fall, bend your knees and squat into a dip position. Otherwise, put your hands out to break your fall, but quickly clench your fingers into a fist so you don't run the risk of injury from a passing skater. Also, try to push your arms out so you will have a safer fall.
  • Practice standing up — Get on your hands and knees and place one foot between your hands. Repeat with your other foot and lift up until you are standing again.
  • Learn to stop — To stop, bend your knees slightly inward then push out with one or both of your feet. You should put a teensy bit of pressure on the ice so your feet will not slide out from under you. When you stop, you should have created a little bit of "snow" that was sheered off from the ice. Don't worry if you don't get this at first, but try-try again because you will most definitely get better with a little practice.
  • Relax and have fun! Before you know it, your skills will become second nature and you'll want to become a regular at Skatetown. See you on the ice!