Places to Skate Near Me

There are many awesome places to skate near me in and around Edmonton. The skating rinks come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some are long and oval allowing you to go a far distance without doubling back – others are shorter and smaller but allow you to get exercise anyway. Five skating rinks are located in Edmonton including Hawrelak park and Victoria park which are close to downtown. Rundle Park is further east in the city, Jackie park is to the south and Castle Down is located in the north part of Edmonton. The three remaining are outside of Edmonton – located in Spruce Grove to the west, St. Albert to the north of Edmonton, and Sherwood park to the east of the city. Depending on where you live, you have many different options available to you.

1. Hawrelak Park

Address: 9330 Groat Rd NW, Edmonton, AB T6G 2A8

Parking: There is plenty of parking here for winter activities like hiking, walking, tobogganing and skating.

Washrooms: There are washrooms inside the pavilion.

Location to put on skates: You can put on skates inside the pavilion.

Renting skates: Skates are available in the pavilion for $10 for the first 30 minutes, every additional 30 minutes costs $5. For more details check out their site.

Amenities

Hawrelak Park is one of the great places to skate near me. They have a large parking lot with a heated pavilion to lace up your skates and use the washroom. It’s one of the two places in Edmonton where you can rent skates. The skating area is quite large offering lots of space to move around and avoid crowded areas. You can get a lot of exercise in if you choose to skate the length of the pond. They also have a skating rink on the field to the south behind the pond, if the big rink gets too busy. Picnic tables can be found around the pond if you want to take a break to eat a snack or drink a warm beverage. Don’t forget your MEC seat cushion to sit on a nice inflatable butt pad on the picnic bench instead of directly sitting on the potentially cold and snow-covered seat.

Bonding Time With Your Partner

You can go on a romantic winter hike around the park hand-in-hand for a beautiful afternoon date with your partner outside! If you’re looking for more romantic ideas, 14 fun Date Ideas for Valentine’s Day post is a great place to look.

If your neck gets chilly, wear a Chaos Multi Tubular Headwear to keep yourself warm. It can be adjusted into a balaclava if you need more face protection.

2. Victoria Park

Address: 12030 River Valley Rd NW, Edmonton, AB T5K 1L4

Parking: On a weekend, there is limited parking.

Washrooms: There are heated washrooms inside the pavilion.

Location to put on skates: The heated pavilion offers benches to put on your skates.

Renting skates: You can’t rent skates here.

Victoria Park is a fantastic place to skate. The rink isn’t as big as Hawrelak Park, but I love skating here. A skating pathway also veers to the right for some additional skating. It tends to be quite bumpy so keep that in mind if you’re just learning to skate or not steady on your feet yet. At dusk, the path is lit up with beautiful rainbow colours making it feel magical. There is a pavilion to lace up your skates inside as well as access the washrooms. Parking can be really busy on the weekends.

Tip:  If you can’t find parking, I suggest parking at the Victoria Golf course’s large parking lot and walking over. It’s roughly a ten-minute walk.

At times, they will play music as well to sing along to. There are picnic tables to the east if you want to eat lunch or have a snack with your family members or partner. This location is close to Hawrelak Park. If you live downtown, you can walk south toward this location.

3. Rundle Park

Address: 2909 113 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T5W 0P3

Parking: There is a big parking lot.

Washrooms: There are heated washrooms inside the pavilion.

Location to put on skates: The heated pavilion has benches to put on your skates.

Renting skates: Yes. It costs $10 for 30 minutes, every additional 30 minutes costs $5. For more details check out their site.

Rundle Family Centre Pavilion

The Rundle Family Centre pavilion is a fantastic place to lace up your skates with benches inside as well as a fireplace to sit around. They have a window to rent skates and talk to a customer service staff. Heated washrooms can be found here as well. If you bring lots of items for your family and partner, lockers are available for 50 cents.

The park is open from 5 A.M. to 11 P.M. and Rundle Family Centre is open from 9 A.M. to 10 P.M. Skate rentals hours are 5 to 8 P.M. Friday, noon to 8 P.M. Saturday, and noon to 6 P.M. on Sunday.

Skating Pathway

Head to the left of the pavilion to reach the pathway. They have rubber cushioning on the pavement to walk with your skates to avoid damaging them. The pathway continues throughout the park in different directions. Eventually, on the other side, you’ll meet up with a big hockey rink offering lots of space to play. At times, as you skate through the narrow pathways in the trees with the lights lit up at dusk, you’ll feel like you’re in Mary Poppins having been taken to a magical place!

Picnic Sites

There are many different picnic tables around the skating pathways if you want to have a picnic. Some families were sitting around the fire pits cooking supper and warming up. They have a few canopied sites with picnic tables and fire pits for bigger gatherings. They can be reserved in the summer but on a first come first serve basis in the winter.

Warm Layers

It’s possible to get cold quickly skating if you don’t wear the right layers. Wear a Merino 250 Top Base Layer 1/4 Zip Long Sleeve and Merino Pant Base Layer for Women to keep your body warm. Also wear heavier layer socks to ensure your feet don’t freeze. If they do, your skating time will be short!

4. Jackie Park

Address: 4540 50 St NW, Edmonton, AB T6L 6B6

Parking: There is ample free parking in the parking lot for skaters and walkers.

Washrooms: There are washrooms in the pavilion if it’s unlocked. Sometimes, it’s locked and isn’t accessible.

Location to put on skates: They have benches inside and outside the building to tie up your skates.

Renting skates: Skates are not available for rent here.

Jackie Park is another one on the list of places to skate near me. The pavilion is a nice place to put on your skates and use the facilities when it’s open. Skating is open from 9 A.M. to 9 P.M. as long as the conditions are safe. Last time I went, the conditions were unsafe and the rink was closed. Check here for updates. The skating rink is located to the left of the pavilion and pond. The pond isn’t incredibly big but nice to get out for an hour or so to skate with your family or partner. They have picnic tables outside to lace up your skates or have a picnic. A small park is close by for children to play. They also have a spray park during the summer for children to enjoy. The are a few parking lots that offer parking spots for many cars.

5. Castle Downs Park Pavilion

Address: 11510 153 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T5X 6A3

Parking: There are lots of parking spaces available shared with Castle Downs Recreation Centre.

Washrooms: Located inside Castle Downs Recreation Centre.

Location to put on skates: There are picnic tables to sit on to lace up your skates.

Renting skates: Skates are not available for rent here.

This location has three gorgeous rinks. A large oval for skating is in great condition leading to a rink in the middle to play hockey. A smaller hockey rink can be found to the east for another game. There are a few picnic tables available to lace up your skates and leave your stuff. Your family and partner can also use them if they’re available to eat your lunch or have a snack. Many trash cans are also provided for your needs. The scenery isn’t as gorgeous as Victoria Park or Hawrelak Park but the amount of room that’s provided to skate is wonderful! You’ll be able to spend lots of time here able to go a long distance before circling around again. This is one of five skating rinks available for a lengthy skate!

6. Sherwood Park Cowan Skating Pathway

Address: 4501 Emerald Drive, Sherwood Park, AB T8H 0P5

Parking: There is plenty of space for parking.

Washrooms: You can access the washrooms inside the Emerald Hills Leisure Centre.

Location to put on skates: There are benches to lace up your skates.

Renting skates: Skates are not available for rent here.

This skating area is tiny with it going around part of the fenced-in baseball field like an upside-down c shown in the second picture above. It’s a good place to go with small children and if you want some quick exercise. There is also a small loop to the right when looking at it from the student parking lot. It’s attached to the high school and you can park here if you skate on weekends. It’s a bit of a walk to the skating pathway if you park here. You can also park on the south side of the street, which is a much closer walk. There aren’t washrooms directly beside this skating pathway but you can head inside the Emerald Hills Leisure Centre and use the washrooms there. Make sure to check the conditions here before heading out. With the current warm temperatures, the pathway wasn’t in the best condition.

7. St. Albert

St. Albert has two locations for skating. Lions park is located at 21 Sir Winston Churchill Ave, just to the right of the Trestle Bridge south of the river. Rotary Park is located at 2 Rodeo Dr. further west of Lions park beside Riel Recreation park. Big Lake (a popular place for canoeing and kayaking) can be found to the left of Rotary Park.

Lions Park

Address: 21 Sir Winston Churchill Ave, St. Albert, AB T8N 3A3

Parking: There is a medium-sized parking lot.

Washrooms: There are washrooms inside a building nearby.

Location to put on skates: You’ll have to put your skates on outside.

Renting skates: It’s not possible to rent skates here.

Places to skate near me include Lions park which has a cute oval skating rink with snow in between creating more of a figure-eight rink style that provides enough room to do a few laps around the rink in the direction you like. It allows smaller children to do loops in the smaller circles while parents go further and are still able to keep an eye on their children. Small white Christmas lights light up the oval perimeter after dusk. There is a playground nearby for children to play and washrooms if you need to use the facilities. Plenty of picnic tables can also be found in this area to eat with your family or partner over the course of your excursion. You can park in the medium-sized parking lot behind the curling club where you’ll see Lion’s park sign. There is a walking path along the river if you want to get some exercise after your skate.

Rotary Park

Address: 2 Rodeo Dr, St. Albert, AB T8N 0Z8

Parking: There is a small parking lot for approximately twenty-five vehicles.

Washrooms: Porta potties are at this location but their site says they are closed as of September 30. There’s a good chance they’re closed for the winter but you can double-check if the urgency arises.

Location to put on skates: There isn’t a warm-up shelter here, you’ll have to put on skates outside in the cold.

Renting skates: It’s not possible to rent skates here.

Rotary park is another gorgeous place to skate! They have a big oval loop on the outside with pathways veering off in different directions. There’s also a circle in the middle that is accessible from the outside oval for some additional skating. This place offers hours of skating with many fun pathways to take. There are outhouses outside but their site said they are closed as of September 30. Don’t count on them being open in the winter. The parking lot is not super spacious but allows twenty-five vehicles to park.

There is a small playground available for children to play on if it’s not a cold winter day. There isn’t a warm-up shelter or pavilion to lace up your skates here so you’ll have to put them on while sitting on cold picnic table benches. The scenery is gorgeous to look at while skating around.

Walking Path

There is also a beautiful walking path along the river that leads toward St. Albert downtown that goes quite a distance. You can enjoy a romantic winter hike with your partner here before or after skating or go hiking on a different day. Hikers also park their vehicles here. When walking on the pathways in the area make sure to walk with your Kahtoola Microspikes if it’s icy. Otherwise, you might lose your balance, slip and fall.

8. Jubilee Park in Spruce Grove

Address: 510 Grove Drive W, Spruce Grove, AB T7X 0A7

Parking: There is ample parking to go skating, tobogganing, walking in this area or to have a picnic.

Washrooms: There aren’t any washrooms on site.

Location to put on skates: You’ll have to put them outside.

Renting skates: It’s not possible to rent skates here.

This skating oval is nice and smooth for skating. It seems well-maintained. It takes a while to skate its entirety before circling back again. You won’t feel like you’re going in circles over and over again. Picnic tables are situated on the outskirts of the oval for your lunch and snacking needs. It’s also a great place to lace up your skates and leave your stuff behind while skating. There isn’t a place to put on your skates in a heated environment so make sure to dress for the weather. They have firepits available for you to use as well in case you need to cook your food and warm up. The skating oval is in the middle of the field offering a park atmosphere when skating. Jubilee park offers many parking spots and trash cans to clean up after yourself once you’re done for the day. Lights light up the oval at night after dusk. The park is open from 8 A.M. to 11 P.M. Unfortunately, there aren’t washrooms on site.

Other Activities

Children were tobogganing down the hill opposite direction from the skating oval for some additional fun. You could also walk in the park as an alternative way to exercise.

Final Thoughts

Places to skate near me include two of the 5 Awesome Outdoor Skating Rinks that can be found throughout Alberta. It’s nice to know that we also have gorgeous areas to skate in our own backyard (in the city of Edmonton and its outskirts). I love having the option of other skating rinks in the city that aren’t as busy as Hawrelak Park and Victoria Park. Rundle Park with its nice magical pathways, Rotary Park with a gorgeous ambiance and plenty of space to spend time skating. Jubilee Park has a nice oval along with Castle Downs Park for nice long strides without circling around many times in a row. Our city and its surrounding really do offer awesome places for you to check out. You might end up calling one of these skating rinks a favourite moving forward. Go try them out and see what our beautiful city has to offer!