Skating in the Sky

Touching the sky may be a relative term but it’s a clear possibility on the top floor of the John Hancock Center,1,000 feet above street level.  Glide across the floor of the world’s highest ice skating rink, located on the 94th floor of the John Hancock Center and Observatory. Read More »

The McCormick Tribune Ice Rink

Chicago supplies icy fun for most of the year but it’s only the holiday time that offers festive activities to celebrate the season.  Annual rituals like ice skating at the McCormick Tribune Rink in Millennium Park and visiting the holiday-themed Thorne Miniature Rooms in the Art Institute make the season bright indeed. Read More »

Winter Wonderfest at Navy Pier

The weather outside might be frightful but Navy Pier supplies indoor winter fun with the Winter Wonderfest at Navy Pier.  A Chicago holiday tradition for 10 years, the festival runs daily through January 3rd and supplies a snow-covered, action-filled day for the whole family.  A diverse range of activities include a rope obstacle course, inflatable games and create-a-cookie.  Amusement rides guarantee excitement with favorites like the 50-foot indoor Ferris wheel, the Winter Wind Glider and the Reindeer Express Train.

Once a year several spots around the Southland are transformed into scenes from a Canadian hockey film, if you squint really hard and just let someone slam you into the glass.  Otherwise, you’ll simply find yourself skating along on temporary ice skating rinks while the sun beats down on you and palm trees sway in the background.  Also?  Most likely nobody else can ice skate, either, so you don’t have to worry about making a fool out of yourself.  Everyone else is doing it.

The only way I'll ever ice skate.

Most famously and traditionally, Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles plays winter this year until January 18.  The location is home to the Winter Holiday Festival on December 12 and 13.

No need to leave the Valley (San Fernando) if that’s where you’re staying.  This is the first year that Woodland Hills Ice operates at the Westfield Topanga Mall until February 2010.  Special events, birthday parties, and open until midnight on Christmas Day.

Over yonder on the West Side, there’ll be no swimming in the pool at the W Hotel for a while.  That’s because they ingeniously turned it into a skating rink!  The outdoor restaurant/bar will serve up wintry goodies, too.  Frozen until January 24.  In Santa Monica, meet your friends at 5th and Arizona for some ice skating by the ocean until January 31.

If you’re in more southern areas of Southern Cal, there are opportunities to trip the ice fantastic down there, too.  Seaside Ice Rink Redondo Beach boasts a large parking lot and proximity to the fabulous Portofino Hotel.

Photo:  Pershing Square website