McCormick-Tribune Ice Skating Rink

This place is A-​OK in comparison to the Maggie Daley Park Ice Skating Ribbon. It’s small, and there’s no crowd control like at Maggie Daley. I’d skip this and go to Maggie Daley instead which is larger, has a spectacular view and has a very convenient rental process (they take your shoes in exchange for skate rentals and your drivers license in exchange for a key card to a locker).

It’s our first Valentine’s Day as a couple, so we decide to something hella romantic and make our way to Millenium Park. Ice rink was open and not too crowded, so we decided to rent some skates. It was Valentine’s Day around 3:30pm. We waited for about 5 minutes to rent some skates.
The skates were a size too big. I normally wear size 7 but had to ask for a size smaller. The 6 fit better. The laces and skates were a bit wet, probably from prior ice skating and most probably sweat (gross). They do Lysol each skate before returning them to the cubbies, but I really hope we don’t get a foot fungus or warts…
For two pairs of skates it came to a total of $ 24. Not bad for a relaxing time of skating. If I’d do it again, I’d bring my own skates.

As should be expected because of the amount of people wanting to skate on the ice, the ice becomes choppy quickly. But of course, the best skating rink!

As should be expected because of the amount o

I have been to a few out doors ice skating rinks and this is by far the best one that I have been to. I like it because it’s big and open unlike other rinks that usually has some sort of decoration in the middle so you can’t skate freely. And I love that I can skate freely here.
What I just love about this is that the admission is free if you have your own skates. Since I had my own skates, I didn’t have to pay anything! And if you don’t have skates, the skate rentals were $ 12.00 per pair.
I came here on a Saturday night and the wait was about an hour for skate rentals. So if you don’t have skates, I do suggest going in the day time and avoid going on a Friday or Saturday night. Because when I went in the day time, there were no lines for skates and barely anyone skating on the ice.
Overall, I would defienitely come back to skate here. It’s big, and free for me. So yay!

My favorite outdoor rink, it provides an amazing view and plenty of fun.
Bring your own skates. There is usually a monstrous line that wraps around the rink on the weekends for rentals.
This is my crude survival guide
For the less advanced skaters:
There are people of all different levels here, advanced skaters will be weaving through traffic, doing hockey stops, mohawks and other maneuvers at every opportunity. Do not be frightened. DO NOT react by trying to avoid these skaters when they approach you. They WILL NOT crash into you. Most of the collisions I see are because the less advanced skater tried to move out of the way and ends up getting in the path of other skaters causing a collision or they just fell on their own because they were frightened
If you are a Blackhawks fan and don’t wan’t to be embarrassed to fans of other teams please do not wear a jersey. I see many people wearing their NHL Teams jersey and all of them are good skaters, then there are the people wearing Blackhawks jerseys… I understand you became a fan 3 years ago but come on…75% of them cannot propel themselves forward 10 feet without stumbling. To the hawks fans that can skate, I respect you.
If ice skating is a one time thing, its okay for this place to be your first time. But if you wan’t to learn how to skate, this is a horrible place. Unless you come here every day in the morning for lessons go somewhere less crowded to learn.
When selecting rentals get skates that fit nice and snug. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR A DIFFERENT SIZE. A boot too big will make your experience miserable. Your ankles will be bending and it will hurt. I recommended figure skates for first timers. The blades are longer than the boot which will be better for stability. However mind the toe pick at the front which is easy to trip over for novices. Hockey skates are a little bit harder for first timers
For the self proclaimed Pro’s:
All I have to say is this is personally my favorite ice, not too slow or fast. Center Ice remains relatively smooth while the outsides get chopped up by the crowd. The figure skaters will be found at center ice. its a nice area with minimal traffic, nice place to take a shortcut.
Know who is behind/​In Front of you. Recognize their skating ability and make your movements based on that. Be responsible on the ice. Know that skating fast and hard will spook the less advanced skaters. They move in unpredictable patterns when spooked which may result in a collision or them falling on their bum. Know who the speeders are on the ice and where they are so you avoid a big time collision.
Skate Sharpening here is not great, I tried it to see how it was, Told the guy 5/​8″ hollow and I don’t think he knew what I was talking about. didn’t really bring out my edges, just kinda touched em up. went dull real quick again. Waste of $ 9 but I expected that.
I love skating here. I come whenever I have the chance. Nothing really bad to say about it other than it is crowded, but who can blame them?

If you are going to advertise that you offer skate sharpening services, then you need to be able to deliver on this promise. Twice I have tried to get my skates sharpened here and both times I got some excuse about how «the person that runs the machine just left for the day, come back another day.» Okay, if that is the case then you need to put on your website that skate sharpening is only available at specific times and provide those times.

Now overshadowed by its younger, more-​glamorous and outdoorsy sister to the east (but she would be another drama:
), this trusty «old» rink is still an excellent place to glide across the «floor of ice» (as goes my literal translation of the Spanish term). It’s a great choice, whether you visit this rink as your destination, or you cross the Dr. Seuss bridge from Maggie Daley Park when the Zamboni starts its slow rounds there. In fact, beginners should start here and learn to confidently propel and stop themselves before they try to master the slight inclines and declines across the way.
You can do things here that you can’t do at the Maggie Daley Park Ribbon, like a triple axel in the center of the rink (not that I can do any triple axel other than driving an old beater car a few parking spaces), or skating backwards. (That, I can do as a beginner, but I wouldn’t chance it on the gentle hills of the Ribbon, especially during rush hour on a weekend.) And you can rent skates with less than an hour line, though at $ 12 a pop, pick some cheap ones up for 40 or 50 bucks or even cheaper at Play It Again Sports, and they’ll soon pay for themselves both in money and in the time it takes to rent them.
Sharpen your ice skates here for a mere $ 9 cash. The trick to telling if your skates need sharpening seems to be running your fingernail across each side of the blade. If it scrapes off a little nail, you’re going to be able to cut the rug (uh, the ice) outside. Yes, you can ice dance in the middle, if you dare.
And for the après-​skate? Treat yourself to a hot chocolate where you can actually create a Jackson Pollock painting in the bowl, across the street. (Yeah, Belgian’s dig a bigger hot chocolate than can fit in a mug). But that, also, would be another story:
.

I came here on a Saturday in the middle of the day for ice skating with my girlfriend. We waited in line for at least half an hour (probably more like 45 minutes) for ice skate rentals. I was fine with the wait because we weren’t in any kind of hurry. We actually enjoyed people watching as couples ice skated on the rink the line wrapped around. The people who were in front of us in line even took part in the people-​watching!
We took off our shoes and rented skates. It was $ 10/​pp. I liked that there wasn’t any kind of limit on how long you were allowed to skate. My sakes were kind of big on me. I think I’ll go down a size the next time. We enjoyed ice skating with a really great view of the skyscrapers, as well as the Bean sculpture towering over us. There were plenty of people who also enjoyed watching the group of ice skaters. It was pretty crowded and there were a lot of people linking arms, which made it difficult at times to skate.
We enjoyed our time there (especially getting to watch the zamboni make the ice squeaky clean) and it was very «couply.» A great affordable and novel date plan! It gets more romantic as it gets darker, so I definitely recommend that. That being said, I don’t anticipate coming back here again until next winter. With the long wait and the crowds, there are plenty of other things I would rather do during the colder months. It was a really pleasant weekend afternoon activity though; I definitely recommend it for anyone who hasn’t been.

After living in Chicago for 2.5 years, I’m happy to have finally made it to the skating rink! It’s definitely you should do at least once when you’re in Chicago!
The skate rental/​return lines are pretty fluid. There’s not too much seating room to get your skates on or off, so plan on waiting a little bit to get situated with your skates. There are benches outside as well.
I’m honestly unsure how many times they Zamboni the rink but once they do, it feels sooooo good to skate on. The rink gets packed on the weekends, therefore the ice gets torn up VERY quickly. If you’re a novice, I suggest you stay close to the sides because self-​proclaimed professionals will be zooming all around… BUT the ice really gets torn up quickly.
There’s a nice little café at the rink if you want to warm up!
I am glad to have fulfilled my civic duty as a Chicago resident and skated at Millennium Park!

In the FREE Ice Skating lesson, you learn:
— stop holding the bar
— to fall correctly on the side (like a diva)
— head up and stand up from fall
— march from one side to another
— glide
— swivel
It’s a far cry from toe pick but… I started terrified, and left confident that I can stand and glide a little. I look forward to more lessons.
NOTE: Long Coat is not recommended as it may snag with bend and glide skating moment.
* * *
Nov 14, 2014 — Mar 8, 2015
$ 12 Skate Rental
Regular Hours for the season are as follows:
Monday-​Thursday, 12 Noon – 8 pm
Friday, 12 Noon – 10 pm
Saturday (Through Jan. 4), 10 am – 10 pm
Saturday (Beginning Jan. 11), 10 am – 9 pm
Sunday, 10 am – 9 pm
Special Holiday Hours:
Thanksgiving Thursday, Nov. 27, 10 am – 4 pm
Friday, Nov. 28, 10 am – 10 pm
Christmas Eve Wednesday, Dec. 24, 10 am – 6 pm
Christmas Day Thursday, Dec. 25, 10 am – 4 pm
Friday, Dec. 26 through Tuesday, Dec. 30, 10 am – 10 pm
New Year’s Eve Wednesday, Dec. 31, 10 am – 8 pm
New Year’s Day Thursday, Jan. 1, 10 am – 10 pm
Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 19, 10 am – 10 pm
Washington’s Birthday, Monday, Feb. 16, 10 am – 10 pm
Free Skating Lessons
Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays, one hour before the rink opens.
Lessons will also be offered each day of Chicago Public School Winter Break, December 22-​January 4, except December 25 and January 1, one hour before the rink opens.

One of the many reasons I love this city! Skating is FREE at this skating rink, you can rent skates for $ 10 or so. Christmas music abounds. Not as crowded as you’d expect. Great for date night or a night with the family.

This was a Chicago bucket list item for me and I’m glad I did it, but I probably won’t be partaking again. I live in suburbia so the only time I could get down here was on a weekend and it was packed. We waited around 45 minutes in line for skates. I think they are $ 10 a piece but I bought a Groupon for two skate rentals and that only cost me $ 11.
There were so many people skating on the rink so the ice was kind of scrap. It was awesome for about the first 3 minutes after they Zamboni-​ed it though. The rink is fairly small. Plus it was crowded with a lot of beginner and first-​time skaters (including myself so I’m not hating) which can make it more difficult to find a rhythm.
It’s a great activity to do once but I don’t think I’ll be repeating it any time soon.

Ice skating in front of the bean?!? Talk about your photo op! Not overly crowded, even on weekends! Best part is it is free! Skate rental is $ 10, no time limit, they take your shoes and store them. Whole you skate. Music to skate by, staff is nice, did I mention great Chicago centric pics? Really a fun experience, went last weekend and will be back again before the season is over! (Chicago winters = skating conditions for months!)

Chicago never ceases to amaze me… skating is FREE at this skating rink. Christmas music abounds. It wasn’t that crowded and what fun for a family outing.

Yes. Perfection.
This rink is nestled comfortably in Millennium Park just off of Michigan Ave. at Washington St.
It’s free to enter this open-​air slab of frozen fun.
Parking is an arm and a leg but worth it if you get a spot in the garage under the rink.(Millennium Park North?)
Skate rentals are available.
Lots of pads around the rink to walk on without dulling your skates.
A good amount of popular coffee joints are within a snowball’s throw from the rink for all of your chocofied and caffeinated hot liquid refreshment needs. What more could you ask for?
There are bike parking facilities and this spot is close to the trains (El and Metra)
Millenium park is a very romantic spot at night. Take a date. Take the family.

I’ve noticed some of the negative reviews about annoying teens. I think that would of ruined my time as well. I always tell people the key to this place is timing. If you aren’t able to get here at a «perfect» time don’t bother. It’s free if you have your own skates and $ 10 if you need to rent. You really can’t beat the views. It’s a beautiful way to spend a winter day. As far as timing goes, get there 5 minutes before they open. The line begins forming early. That should buy you at least 2 hours before the real crowds show up.

around christmastime, the line can get as long at 40 minutes wait. if you have your own skates, bring them along. Otherwise, if you don’t want to wait there’s another rink on randolph. Looks ok, but not at the heart of millenium park like the McCormick rink is!
rentals are $ 10, and there’s a café right next door!

Who turned off the music? No music, but skating under the Bean with a fantastic city view was really fun! We took the train to the Ogelvie station and walked 6 or so blocks down Washington… easy way to get to Millennium Park! The ice is kind of choppy, but for an inexperienced skater, it’s really not a big deal. Skated from 11am-12:30 on a Saturday and the rink was not overcrowded. Lots of people take tumbles, but you will likely be skating slow enough that it’s really not going to hurt. Benches near the rink if you prefer to watch. Some experienced skaters venture into the middle of the ice to do neat triple axel kinds of tricks!
Here is what you need to know:
1) Hockey skates and supportive figure skates (not the traditional white ones) are available to rent for $ 10. You can skate as long as you want.
2) There are small lockers available (bring 4 quarters to use them) or the staff will store your shoes for free behind the counter in the ice skate cubby holes and return your shoes to you when you return your skates. Very easy.
3) Clean public bathrooms and an ATM are right there.
Tips:
1) If you are not a figure skater, it looks really silly when you wear tights!
(Jeans, gloves, hats are pretty standard attire here)
2) Only a 2 – 3 block walk from the Christkindlmarket (German Fair) at Daley Plaza if you want to enjoy some hot spiced German wine after skating! YUM

I can’t skate. Hell, I can’t even stand up on skates and walk to the rink. Damn those weak ankles. However, if I could skate this is the place I would show off my talents.
I had so much fun people watching here. Or should I say skater watching.
Everyone here was having such a great time. There were experienced skaters who seemed to be fantasizing about being in the Olympics and others who kept falling. I would be in the falling group. Some of the falls I would score a 10 for gracefulness and others for creative silliness. No one seemed to be seriously hurt.
My friend made me leave, he was a wimp and getting cold.
If you’re a skater and in Chicago be sure to visit Millennium Park Ice Rink.

Ahhh, to be a kid again and skate outside with the wind through your hair and snow flakes falling on your face. And hopefully, you not actually falling on your face. But enough nostalgia, let’s get down to business. Skating at Millennium Park can be a good experience or a bad one depending on when you go, how crowded it is, what the weather is like, how long the line for rentals are, etc.
Here are my recommendations:
1. Go during the week, try to avoid weekends.
2. Bring your own skates if you have them.
3. Go on a warmer, less windy day.
4. Try to get on the ice right after they’ve resurfaced it, so you don’t have to have your skating interrupted and sit out and wait 25 minutes.
5. Be patient and prepare to be good at maneuvering around kids and other people falling and/​or going slowly on the ice.
Lockers are available to hold your stuff for $ 1 (bring quarters). Admission is free, skate rentals are $ 10. I like the hockey skates better than the regular ones, they are much more sturdy. Rink hours are M-​F noon to 8 pm, Sat/​Sun 10 am-​9pm. Resurfacing times are usually 1:30, 3:00, 4:30 and 6:00, but don’t quote me on this. Rink will be open until March 13, 2011, weather permitting. Here’s a little secret if the wait is too long here – go to the Daley Bicentennial Park ice skating rink near Columbus and Randolph. Less crowded, cheaper rentals, still a nice park view.