Cleveland Area Ice Rinks

[Mr. MacPhisto]

I've looked online and noticed that the Cleveland area has quite a few indoor ice rinks. I like to get to the rink a couple of times a week down here (yes, we have plenty of ice rinks in Florida - and they are a wonderful respite from the oppressive almost year round heat). I'm planning on visiting the area some time within the next few months (October at the latest) and was planning on bringing my skates with me because I'll want to still get in a couple of hours on the ice.

Any recommendations on rinks throughout the area? I know the one in Lakewood is reopening in September. The one in Shaker Heights looks promising as well. Any others? Which ones have the best ice?

[diminishingskills]

Ice Land USA is right down the road here in Strongsville. I don't know the first thing about the place, but it might be worth your while.

[Mr. MacPhisto]

Ice Land USA is right down the road here in Strongsville. I don't know the first thing about the place, but it might be worth your while.

Thanks. Those Fall open skates are insane there. 8AM-2:30P for $6? Damn. The open skates down here are usually two hours and cost $7-8 a pop. We do have a great late night skate in Clearwater that lasts about three hours.

Anyone know if rinks up there have adult only skating periods? I really dislike skating with kids on the ice because they're so inattentive. I prefer skating when I don't have to keep an eye out for them crossing my path, especially when they're using props on the ice.

[skatingtripods]

Anyone know if rinks up there have adult only skating periods? I really dislike skating with kids on the ice because they're so inattentive. I prefer skating when I don't have to keep an eye out for them crossing my path, especially when they're using props on the ice.

Pretty sure that Winterhurst in Lakewood has an adults only one once or twice a week. I want to guess Thursday night, but I'm not completely sure.

If you're just looking for open skates, IceLand is your best bet. With school back in session now, you don't have to worry about kids skating around your ankles.

Shaker Heights is a gorgeous rink. It was my favorite when I played in high school. Great seamless glass, a rock hard surface. Great if you like your skates really sharp like I do.

I'm not sure of the times for Brooklyn Rec, but I know they do a lot of learn-to-skate classes. They're kept to one end of the rink though, and they probably have the second best surface outside of Shaker's rink.

If you're looking to play open hockey, which you didn't mention, but I will, IceLand has it periodically. Winterhurst has it late on Friday nights, as well as the Dan Kostel Rec in Garfield. It's at 9:45 in Garfield, $12 on Friday night. That's where I still play every Friday.

Back to IceLand, they're just looking for money anywhere possible. The open skates are long, but that's because they don't get much traffic and they just hope that people show up sporadically. It's a nice place and a good surface as well. The one time I went, my buddy and I were two of six people there for about two hours, so you shouldn't have a problem.

[Mr. MacPhisto]

Pretty sure that Winterhurst in Lakewood has an adults only one once or twice a week. I want to guess Thursday night, but I'm not completely sure.

If you're just looking for open skates, IceLand is your best bet. With school back in session now, you don't have to worry about kids skating around your ankles.

IceLand USA just got a contract with the city of Lakewood so they'll be running the Winterhurst rink and investing $1M for improvements.

Shaker Heights is a gorgeous rink. It was my favorite when I played in high school. Great seamless glass, a rock hard surface. Great if you like your skates really sharp like I do.

I do like the sharp skates. Less resistance and more speed. I tend to get mine sharpened after every four hours of ice time or so.

If you're looking to play open hockey, which you didn't mention, but I will, IceLand has it periodically. Winterhurst has it late on Friday nights, as well as the Dan Kostel Rec in Garfield. It's at 9:45 in Garfield, $12 on Friday night. That's where I still play every Friday.

Cheaper up there than down here. It runs anywhere from $15-20 for pickup hockey. They do let the first two goalies that show up in for free.

Back to IceLand, they're just looking for money anywhere possible. The open skates are long, but that's because they don't get much traffic and they just hope that people show up sporadically. It's a nice place and a good surface as well. The one time I went, my buddy and I were two of six people there for about two hours, so you shouldn't have a problem.

It's not quite like that down here because we have a massive amount of homeschooled kids and the rinks all give discounts to homeschoolers and their families during the school year. It's actually causing a significant drop in attendance for the public schools in my county (and a rise in test scores for those kids).

Thanks for the info. The Shaker Heights rink sounds like a winner. I see that some of them also have curling and I've been interested in giving that a go but no one does anything down here. I could probably get something started at one of the rinks but I don't have any experience with it other than playing it on my Wii.

Don't know if I'd bring all the hockey gear with me to play pickup, especially with how what they want to charge for extra weight in luggage on planes nowadays. At least the skates barely weigh anything.