Mark your calendars: Registration for January-March programs is coming soon! Oak Park resident registration opens Saturday, Dec 6 at 8:30A. Non-resident registration opens Saturday, Dec 13 at 8:30A.

Outdoor Rinks

Make the most of chilly Illinois winters on our outdoor skating rinks!

Information

Maintenance of Outdoor Ice Rinks

“Why are some rinks open while others are closed?” Our Parks & Planning team works hard to prepare our outdoor ice rinks for skating every winter season. Here’s a sneak peek into how we get our rinks ready for you:

We fill the rink liners with a large layer of water – think of it like a giant pool! We need a good stretch of cold weather (below-20-degree days) to freeze the water.
Once all of the layers are frozen, we can open the rinks.
The weather needs to stay below freezing (32 degrees) to keep the rink from melting and creating cracks, thus making it unsafe to skate.
We track weather conditions daily and their effects on the ice conditions.

Those are just a few of the things we do to keep our outdoor rinks safe! Now the big question: when will they be ready? Check out their status below.

Rink Closed / Canceled