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 are recommended for beginning skaters (you are welcome, and encouraged, to bring your own helmet). 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 is recommended.

We recommend bringing a bicycle helmet for children and adults alike. If you prefer, you can use one of Skatetown's loaner helmets.

If you can walk, you can skate. We carry only quality skates with great ankle support. Our brand new, high quality, best-in-the industry rental skates are easy to buckle on. You will be skating easily, with no bent ankles, in no time!

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, smoothies, ice cream, coffee drinks, hot chocolate, beer and wine.

We do not permit outside food or beverages to be brought into Skatetown.

It’s actually more fun to skate when there are a lot of people and lots of energy! During the busy holidays, sometimes both rinks will be open. You’ll also find that many guests are watching from the bleachers, eating in the café, or in a private room celebrating a birthday – only a portion of the guests are skating at any one time.

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.

The whole family is guaranteed to have a blast on one of our Family Party Sessions. Play Limbo, Red Light/Green Light, Let It Snow and more! Join the 'center ice' fun with Skatetown teammates for dances like the Cha Cha Slide and Macarena. Get caught up in the excitement of the music, laser light shows, disco lights and black lights. And be sure to get in on the ice-cool fun of snow falling from the ceiling. The fun never ends at a Family Party Session!

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 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. (NOTE: The smallest youth hockey skate we have is Size 8, which fits youth size 10 foot.) 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). Mini-Zam Sleds and Bobby rentals are $10. Child's Sled rentals are $15. 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 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, *single-use lockers. The cost is $1.00 for each use. Skatetown is not responsible for lost or stolen items. (*single-use defined as: $1.00 buys storage for your possessions until you come back (one time) to unlock the locker. You must pay another $1.00 to relock the locker, again taking the key with you, until such time as you would like to retrieve your belongings)

Walk-in parties are not allowed. You are welcome to skate, but no food, beverages or gifts may be brought into the rink. CLICK HERE for information on renting a private party room to celebrate your special day! When you rent a room, you will be able to bring cake/cupcakes, decorations and gifts. Food and beverages can be purchased at the café.

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

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 Bobby sled or a Mini-Zamboni sled. Skate Helpers are also available for rent.

Figure or hockey skates can be rented for $4.00 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. 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!