Skating Season

When I was in ninth grade, there was an indoor ice rink down the street from my school. Ice skating was great exercise and a fun social activity after a day of sitting in classrooms. Being able to walk to the rink was a perk in the days before my friends and I were old enough to drive.

And I still remember the thrill I felt when a boy I liked asked me to skate during the “couples skate.” Unfortunately, that one skate was as far as our relationship ever went.

But you didn’t come here to read about that.

Indoor ice rinks can operate in any kind of weather and some are even open year round. But there’s a certain authenticity to skating outside. We did that too when we were kids, although it was sometimes an iffy proposition since we were trusting that we wouldn’t fall through the ice into a frigid lake.

As winter winds down (maybe?), there still is time to skate outdoors in Greater Cleveland. Most of the temporary outdoor rinks have already closed for the season, but the Cleveland Foundation Ice Rink on Public Square is open for its final weekend this Saturday and Sunday. The fee is $10 with skate rental, $7 if you bring your own skates.

The ice rink in Halloran Park, 3550 W. 117th St. in Cleveland, is another option for outdoor ice skating. It’s open from October through April. The information on the link says it’s on West 17th Street, but it really is on West 117th Street. Here and at the Public Square rink, there is no danger of falling in the lake.

Of course if you want to ice skate indoors, you have a lot of options in Northeast Ohio.