Ice Skating Near Youngstown, Ohio – Where to Go?

Youngstown, Ohio, has chilly winter weather that’s ideal for ice skating. Kids and adults can enjoy this fun winter sport, and it’s a great way to get some exercise with friends or family members.

Here are some of the best places to go ice skating in the area.

Deep Freeze Ice Arena

The Deep Freeze Ice Arena is in Boardman, only about 10 minutes away from Youngstown. Many hockey teams play at Deep Freeze Ice Arena, which often hosts fun ice shows and special events. Several types of rink time are available. Freestyle lets you practice your skating, take private figure skating lessons, and try spins, jumps, and other moves. Stick Time is for hockey practice and hockey lessons, and players must wear helmets. Public Skates are open to everyone, and Family Skates happen on Sundays.

There’s also Toddler Time for small children and Skate Club, an ice skating club for all skill levels and ages. You can attend a hockey class every Saturday at 10:15 a.m. Check the website for the day’s schedule.

Center Ice Sports Complex

The Center Ice Sports Complex in North Canton is about an hour away from Youngstown. The indoor ice arena is open all year, and it offers hockey and figure skating classes for all levels, as well as public open skating with skate rentals. It has an NHL-sized rink, a video arcade, a full-service hockey pro shop, and a cafe. It opened in 1999, and it often attracts more than 10,000 visitors per week.

You’ll also find a range of special programming and recreational hockey leagues. Three meeting rooms are available for large groups or parties, and a full-service food concession area is on-site. Skate rentals are on offer, and skating classes usually last for six weeks. A 40-minute class once per week includes 30 minutes of lesson time and 10 minutes of skating time.

On the first day, new skaters should arrive 15 minutes early to learn how to put on their skates and use skate blade covers and walk around a bit before they venture onto the ice. Kids 3 years old and up can attend, and children 5 and younger must wear helmets. Weekly hockey lessons for kids and adults are available, and a hockey lunch is held Tuesdays and Thursdays at noon.

The advanced Junior Club figure skating program lasts for 12 weeks, but participants can join anytime. They’ll only pay for the classes that happen after they sign up. The classes include 30 minutes of group instruction and 30 minutes of ice time for practice or a private lesson. This class prepares people to skate with the skilled members of the Center Ice Skating Club.

If you can’t make it to the rink, you can watch special events through the website. The Center Ice Sports Complex runs the Center Ice Foundation, a nonprofit devoted to helping kids get more physical activity through hockey, figure skating, or just enjoying the ice. This ice rink’s slogan is “A kid on the ice is rarely in hot water.”

The Pond Ice Rink

Image via Flickr by marcusw89

The Pond Ice Rink is in Chagrin Falls, about an hour away from Youngstown, and the indoor ice arena is open all year. It offers skate rental, hockey and figure skating programs, public open skating, and party rentals, and admission is free for children younger than 5. The Pond covers 4,000 square feet, and it’s the only ice skating rink in Ohio powered by wind turbines.

The Saturday Learn to Skate program covers beginner and intermediate skills, and many students go on to join a USA Hockey or U.S. Figure Skating program. Skate rentals and gliders are included, and you can check out just one class if you’re not sure whether you want to attend more. Several levels of hockey lessons are available on Saturdays as well.

Sticks & Pucks is an open session designed for hockey players of all ages, and it lets them practice puck handling and skating. USA Hockey-approved helmets are required, and full face shields are recommended. The Geauga Youth Hockey Association was founded in 1998. Its youth hockey team is the Maple Leafs. The team has earned dozens of championships over the years.

If you’re planning a kids’ party, consider Bubble Soccer, in which participants’ upper bodies are inside a large bubble. Your party will come with a ball, 10 bubbles, two nets, and a referee. You can also rent your own bubbles and play at home. Public skating is on weekdays from noon to 2 p.m. and on Fridays from 7:10 to 8:40 p.m. On weekends, anyone can skate from 1:30 to 3 p.m.

Kent State Ice Arena

Kent State Ice Arena is at Kent State University, about 45 minutes away from Youngstown in Kent. The arena is currently closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the following information will be relevant once it reopens.

Built in 1970, the arena is a family-friendly facility with two rinks. The Main Rink is 200 feet long and 85 feet wide, and the Rec Rink is 150 feet long and 80 feet wide. Recreational skating, hockey, figure skating, birthday parties, and private rentals are available. The arena also features a multipurpose meeting room, a full-service snack bar, skate repairs, and skate sharpening.

The Kent State Figure Skating Team and the Kent State ACHA Hockey Team use the rink. It’s also home to six high school teams, a youth hockey program, and a figure skating club. The figure skating lessons are part of Learn to Skate USA, a program endorsed by U.S. Speed Skating, U.S. Figure Skating, and USA Hockey. Participants will get an official Learn to Skate USA Record Book, a parent handbook, a membership card, and a magazine.

College Late Night Skates happen on many Wednesday nights from 10:30 p.m. to midnight, and college students with college IDs can attend and bring guests who are 18 or older. Hockey lessons are available, and three adult leagues have different difficulty levels.

At these great ice skating rinks near Youngstown, you can enjoy the ice at any time of the year. Where are some of your favorite places for ice skating, figure skating, or hockey? Are there any great rinks we left off our list? Contact us and let us know what you think about skating.