Easily accessible with rinks offering public skate times, lessons, and even skate rentals, ice skating is the perfect sport to embrace the cold weather. From enormous skate complexes to ice-over state fairgrounds, here are the best ice skating rinks in and around Delaware.
The Fred Rust Ice Arena (University of Delaware Ice Arena) is a multi-purpose arena on the campus that houses two ice sheets the main ice arena. Featuring hockey programs, figure skating, and Learn-T-Skate, this University of Delaware arena is also home to the Delaware Blue Hens. Plus, this has been the home to many Olympians in training, like Tara Lipinski, Kimmie Meissner, Johnny Weir, Tiffany Scott.
The Centre Ice Rink is a 49,000-square-foot facility built in 2002 that hosts activities like hockey, figure skating, and public skating during the winter months. Located at the Delaware State Fairgrounds, this area also has bumper cars! Is there anything like zipping across the ice and bumping into your friends? It’s sure to be a good time.
A unique winter holiday attraction along the riverfront is a temporary, outdoor ice skating rink. This family-geared, outdoor ice skating rink offers fun for all ages and can accommodate around 350 skaters. What’s more, it’s open seven days a week with skate sharpening, rentals, a heated hut, and more.
This ice rink, with a pro shop and a cafe, offers both public lessons and league play for ice-skating and hockey. Find Learn-To-Skate programs, learn to play hockey programs, private skating or hockey instruction, stick and puck sessions, public skating, and cosmic skating with a DJ and disco lights. Plus, this is the home of the Delaware Ducks and the Pond Penguins, both non-profit youth hockey organizations, and Pond Cafe serves up toasty favorites all year round.
The Skating Club of Wilmington has been teaching the community to skate since 1965 when it started as a private club. Their programs feature “parent-and-tot classes,” figure skating, ice dance, pairs, synchro teams, and hockey. The club encourages skating as a family sport, where children, parents, and sometimes grandparents can enjoy together. They have even had some folks in their 70s and 80s out on the ice.
Just over 20 minutes from Wilmington, the IceWorks Skating Complex opened up in 1997 and now offers three NHL-size rinks and one Olympic sized rink in a single facility. You will also find an on-site restaurant, pub and grill, pro shop, and an arcade. Plus, as you might imagine, the facility supports over 180 hockey teams at a variety of levels, including college, youth, high school, and adult leagues.
Only 20 minutes away, the Blue Cross RiverRink, is Philadelphia’s largest outdoor ice skating rink. Open seven days a week, the park in which the arena sits includes an opulent and glowing space featuring outdoor seating areas set up by fire pits, wonderful warming cabins, a kid’s lodge with arcade games, and to top it off, a chalet-inspired dining lodge with food and drink from local restaurants.
Supporting hockey, lessons, public skating, ice rentals, parties, and more the Springfield Ice Skating Center is pretty much up for anything. Home to the Springfield Hockey League, the rink hosts youth and adult team and offers skating lessons to beginners and advanced skaters. You’ll also find rentals, heated changing rooms, and more.
If you are in southern Delaware, your best bet for ice skating would be to hop over the border and go to Carousel Ice Rink. This rink is actually inside of a hotel. It offers public skating to hotel guests and non-guests as well as live ice shows featuring the Next Ice Age skaters and a stunning light display. Plus, they cater birthdays and other special events!
