Lace up at these indoor skating rinks in Vancouver
The Vancouver winter isn't always conducive to the typical Canadian pass time of outdoor ice skating. Thankfully, there are some excellent indoor venues for practicing your slap shot, figure eights or simply gliding around a few laps. No matter what the mercury says, it’s always a perfect day for a skate.
Canlan Ice Sports
6501 Sprott St, Burnaby, BC V5B 3B8It’s got a quiet charm that makes it a favourite long after childhood. You can lace up your skates, sign up for lessons, practice your pirouettes and then chow down on nachos. You never have to worry that you don’t own skates (they rent), or that yours have dull blades (they sharpen) or that you’ve forgotten your shinny puck (they sell). If you’re excited about 8 Rinks, use their free WiFi and Facebook or Instagram it.
Britannia Community Services Centre
1661 Napier St, Vancouver, BC V5L 4X4No matter if the city undergoes a Hawaiian-like heat spell, the skies are unloading record amounts of rain or it’s a perfect winter day, there’s always skating at Britannia. You can grab a friend and skate recreationally, brush up on your skills with lessons or vie for the game-winning goal in a game of shinny. And if you’re not sure you want to make the commitment to your own pair of skates, rent them for the day instead.
Kerrisdale Cyclone Taylor Arena
5670 East Boulevard, Vancouver, BC V6M 3V2Sign up for a membership and enjoy everything the Kerrisdale Community Centre has to offer. Hockey-mad skaters can channel the Sedin twins on the skating rink, race past the blue line and swoop in to score a nifty five-hole. If you’re not quite NHL-ready, work up to it by training in the exercise room or in the pool. For skating, you can go at it alone or sign up for lessons.
Riley Park Hillcrest Community Assn
4575 Clancy Loranger Way, Vancouver, BC V5Y 2M4Skating isn’t like pulling on a pair of running shoes and going for a jog. There’s more equipment involved, like the skates themselves, blade guards, warm clothing, water and snacks to keep energy levels up. Hillcrest takes all of that into account by providing ample room to stow your stuff while you skate, instead of having to leave it in an unsecured change room. Skate rentals are available at reasonable prices, especially if you're doing it as a family activity.
Richmond Olympic Oval
6111 River Rd, Richmond, BC V7C 0A2Canada won five medals in long-track speed skating just south of the airport on the other side of the river. The Richmond Olympic Oval has now been expanded into two Olympic-sized hockey rinks. You can go for public skating at a variety of times and rent skates if you don’t have your own, and parking outside in the lot is very cheap. There are also tons of amenities if you want to take a break from setting world records.
ASSN-West End Community Centre
870 Denman St, Vancouver, BC V6G 2L8If you’re in the mood for skating but don’t have a pair of skates, that’s not a problem here. The West End CC rents skates and, with a single admission pass, you’re spending less than a couple of loaves of bread and a jug of milk. There are also skate classes, drop-in shinny and programs for the youngsters — but if your skating legs are rusty, they have plenty of other programs. In between laps, visit the pottery studio, library or gym.
Sunset Rink
390 51st Ave E, Vancouver, BC V5X 1C5While Mother Nature is busy ruining another perfectly good skating day, ignore her and skate indoors at Sunset any time of the year. It’s an older rink that’s kept its charm, although the showers and their brown tiling are a bit on the forgettable side. There are plenty of skating options here no matter what your interest or ability: public skating, lessons, classes, shinny and even renting the whole darn rink for yourself, if you feel like it.
