Pentagon Row Outdoor Ice Skating

This is such a great place! The season ends on March 27 this year. The outdoor rink reminds me of ice skating on a frozen lake. There are lots of outdoor benches, a glowing outdoor fire pit, and a nice warm office. I checked in on my Unilocal app and received my choice of winter hats. My niece selected a nice pink hat.
The staff is very friendly and helpful. They offered my first time skater a walk along penguin for first timers as well as a double blade skate. My niece declined both because she was determine to do this on her own.
We had the rink to ourselves for the first hour. It’s very clean and there are lots of areas to help keep you from falling.
I definitely recommend this place for first timers and families. It’s so much nicer than the indoor rink in Fairfax. Pricing is reasonable $ 12 and includes skates.

Hidden gem. Nice location and reasonably priced. They have the Penguins that beginners can use to navigate the ice. There aren’t many though so you might have to wait for one depending on the crowd. Lockers are free and the staff is very helpful and friendly. Plenty of shopping in the area with a huge parking garage. Recommend you go play on the ice and then have dinner at one of the cute little restaurants and/​or go shopping.

This is a great outdoor rink in an excellent location with a lot of food options and a Starbucks. It’s perfect for children or new skaters. They have penguins that kids can hold onto while skating. The staff are also very nice.

A group of friends and I wanted to go ice skating and this was the closest place that we could find. One friend took the metro and had trouble finding the place because there were no signs. There are 2 large parking garages close by. I think I paid $ 6 for 3 hours, which isn’t terrible.
It is located near the Pentagon City Shopping Mall and in between DSW and Loft. The prices are reasonable. We paid $ 14 for 2 hours and we definitely slated for a good chunk of this time. There are several benches surrounding the ice rink for people who want to come watch but don’t want to skate. At the far end of the rink near the restaurants, there are even fire places to keep warm. They also light the rink area up with snowflake lights and it’s really pretty at night.
They provide these cute sliding penguins instead of buckets for kids who are learning how to skate. I felt like there were a decent amount of people skating or trying to skate and with the rink being smaller, it felt more crowded.
Overall we had fun without having to pay a lot. This would be a great idea for a date in the evening.

Pros:
It’s a pretty good rink, quite safe and not excessively crowded. Lots of children come here. No water puddles or holes. Service is friendly and there are lots of nice shops around the area, including a Starbucks if you want to warm up with a hot drink.
Cons:
I feel like it’s on the expensive side with $ 13 at two hours, and when I was here they didn’t clean the ice enough. Should keep in mind that it’s also a small rink if you’re a really good skater and prefer big ones.

Love the rink, the staff and the setting at the Pentagon Row Ice Rink. My son’s been skating here for about 4 years now — he’s 9 — so we really appreciate all the upgrades they’ve done recently. I’m actually writing this while lounging by the fire pit in an Adirondack chair, sipping a wintry Starbucks drink.
The staff here is truly the best. Even when it’s a zoo (it rarely is), they give every skater the attention they need. Case in point — my son today went through four pairs of rentals before he got the right fit, and they were totally patient and kind and understanding with him. When a kid falls and hits their head, the staff charms them into taking a break and icing the bump.
They offer reasonably priced lessons — we LOVE LOVE LOVE Alyssa. And if you come around 9am Saturday, you may find staff playing pick-​up hockey with ad-​hoc informal lessons for kids who want to play too.
Tip: If you come often, look into getting a season pass to save money.

This review is based on a December after-​school skate session.
Pentagon Row offers a great place for skating with toddlers in the region. My little one just got on the ice recently and skating has been a fun way to play outdoors over our chilly winter.
I got a 10 skate pass for $ 70, which is about $ 10 savings, and now we just have to bring or rent skates on future trips.
Pros:
–beautiful setting, with small snow machines that set the mood, and outside the rink, a fireplace with chairs to cozy up
— easy rental process, you can get on the ice quickly
— friendly young staff
–Ample paid parking in surface lots around Pentagon Row & metro accessible
Cons: aka why I’m holding out on 5 stars
–somewhat chaotic ice experience, which can be nerve wracking for novice or young skaters.
— too many cell phones and selfies on the ice!
The reason this is not a 5 star review is largely due to their ‘hands off’ management of the skating patterns and behaviors. When I visited, no skating pattern was established or enforced. This meant that a seasoned skater might whip by in a smooth path while an anxious 9 year old is treading ice and cutting brazenly across the middle of the small skate pond.
We narrowly avoided several crashes because people were busy taking selfies, videos, etc and creating unnecessary obstacles on ice. This was out of hand.
Also, they offer cute little penguin pushers to help little ones skate. However, they are first come first serve and while we eventually scored one an hour after arriving, I felt like I was hawking all skaters to try to score an abandoned penguin, which wasn’t happening.
Management– visit the ice skating rink at the sculpture garden– and give their approach a try. Strictly but politely enforce a pattern, all the time, and sideline people immediately for using phones on ice. While it may sound strict, if you see how they do it at that rink, you’ll get an idea of how to implement procedures while maintaining a safe, friendly, and memorable ice skating experience.

It was a pretty nice play. I went during the frozen fest and it was very crowded and chaotic but on a normal day I’m pretty sure it is nice. The rink is large and the pricing is not too expensive. Great place to bring the kids

Yup, it’s that time of year already, ice skating time! The rink in Pentagon Row opened last weekend and will be open until March. This is a decently-​sized rink and when we went around 10:15-ish (it opened at 10 am) on a Saturday morning it wasn’t too crowded.
I was surprised that after only being open for about an hour that they brought the zamboni out. While the ice was getting a little choppy, it was still in much better shape than other rinks I’ve skated at where they barely zamboni at all despite them desperately needing to, but Pentagon Row was on top of maintaining the ice in a smooth condition and they were able to complete zamboni-​ing pretty quickly so we were back out on the ice soon.
They have the penguins for kids so they can skate with those and not have to cling to the sides or their parents.
An adult skating session (2 hours) + skate rental cost $ 13.
The staff here were much better than the staff at an area rink I went to last season. When we had an issue with a person who kept skating in the opposite direction of everyone else and was causing issues on the ice, I asked the staff if someone was supposed to be out on the ice monitoring the skating and they sent someone out onto the ice, which was helpful so no one got injured!
Also, be sure to check out the calendar to see when they will have the official rink opening celebration on an evening usually in the beginning of December because they set up a fireworks display ON the ice and Santa ice skates around and through the fireworks fountains that are placed on the rink and it’s a great display and a lot of fun to go out and watch!
FYI — they don’t take American Express cards, so make sure you have another credit card or cash on you to pay.

Lots of fun! This is definitely one of the better ice skating rinks in the DC area. I visited with a friend a week ago and had an enjoyable time. It’s also open from early November until as late as March (I’ve seen it open as late as mid-​to-​late March in the past), so it’s nice that they’re open for several months, both before and after the holiday season and throughout winter.
The ice rink is great about making sure guests are having a good time. They also seemed to really care about guest safety because they frequently cleaned the ice when it became choppy and there were too many ice shavings. I would definitely recommend Pentagon Row’s ice skating rink. And they already have the Christmas tree and other holiday ornaments/​statues up! :) I would certainly love to visit again later this season.

It’s outdoor ice skating. Is what it is.

As someone who has technically by birth should have known to skate before walking, this should of course be a no brainer to write up about an outdoor skating rink near Pentagon City.
The staff are well trained, and even for them being teens they are actually well mannered instead of the classic, I can’t believe I have to work this job every season kind of thing. I don’t have my own skates, and I always get sheepish about rentals but I was very impressed by the quality of the equipment for rental.
That said though the place is not without it’s issues. The ice quality when I went was really poor, lots of cracks and divots which the staff put cones out for so you don’t go over them. The rink is VERY small, and if it’s crowded chances are you are really going to have to pay attention.
Would it also hurt for the staff to tell people to maybe skate in the other direction and switch it up between Zamboni runs? Gets a little boring going in the same direction like NASCAR. LOOK I AM MAKING ANOTHER LEFT TURN!!! AWWOO! ok I get it now…
It wasn’t too crowded, but I can easily see it being so and wouldn’t try it if it was cause the rink is too small. However, it’s a good excuse for a blast.
Oh watch out for the kids pushing the penguin sliders. They seem to just go everywhere.

By far the best outdoor ice skating rink in Northern Virgina and is inexpensive. Might be the best in the whole area. Not too crowded at all and they have penguins to help beginners balance themselves.

This is my favorite time of year! When the ice skating rink comes to town! Such a wonderful activity for friends or family! Best looking rink around! And lots of room! Should really buy a pair of skates!

Such a lovely place and such nice people working there. I would never forget the girl working there who was so patient with me and helped me to learn how to ice skate. That was gorgeous … Would definitely do that every day :)

This was a fun little outing at the Pentagon ice skating rink. It’s around $ 12+/- per person so it adds up quick. The rink is a little small in size and the ice is rough and choppy. Saw a few people take a particularly bad fall and this is more likely related to the poorly maintained ice on the rink than a lack of ice skating skill. We did fine, thankfully and left with some great memories and photos. A nice way to start the winter season before the official winter solstice! :-)

We went on a Sunday and it wasn’t overcrowded or too loud. The skates were in good condition and they maintained good ice. This will be our go-​to skating rink from now on. Very impressed!

Definitely had fun here! Cute place for a date, friends or family. Reasonable prices.

Great place to go ice skating, but go when there aren’t many people! Reasonable prices.

I had a blast with my friends at the Pentagon Row Ice Rink. The rink isn’t too big which made me feel better since I haven’t put on a pair of ice skates in over 15 years! I also like that there is a wide range of skating talent on the ice. I did not feel like I was going to be run over or pushed to the edge by the more confident skaters.
The price is just right and there are plenty of places to grab a bite to eat or a nice drink when you are done. I highly recommend this as a Sunday afternoon outing for you, your friends and/​or your family. You will not regret it.