Big Bear Ice Arena

With the bf needing some ice time to get his feet back before his league game, we chose Big Bear’s Saturday early afternoon public skate.
The ice was actually really nice and smooth. While there was a fair amount of people, but it was by no means crowded. Every age and skill level was showcased which makes it a pretty mellow session. Thr facility was clean and features two rinks. It is in a repurposed hanger from the old Lowry Air Base which is pretty cool. It was quite affordable. $ 14 for the two of us to skate for an hour 15. We have our own skates so that does help on cost.
All in all I’d definently come back. If you’re into ice skating and looking for something to do with your friends Big Bear is a solid 4.

I have gone here on numerous occasions. There are always coaches and wannabe coaches teaching during public session. I pay the same price as them to skate on the same sheet of ice. If you go here on an evening, be prepared to play dodge-​the-​kid or hit-​the-​kid cause they really have no sense of space. They will dart right in front of you.
On the plus side, the sheets of ice are solid. If you stay long enough, the kids will disappear and you can do your own drills on the ice. I’ll probably end up playing some stick and puck some time down the road here. This is a no frills rink that looks like a plain facility with 2 sheets of ice. One rink is situated in a larger room while the other has no seating and minimal walking space.
If it weren’t for all the skating coaches coming out during public session, this place would easily be a 4 and maybe 5 star experience. Obviously, the people can’t control this part of public skate so I’m not faulting them; more of an observation and suggestion for anyone thinking about going. It’s cheaper to pay for public skate than renting out the rink so I understand. I might just drop in at a later time next time to avoid the mess. They charge higher for public skate and stick n’ puck compared to other rinks. However, the convenience is there for a rink to be in the middle of a handful of restaurants and parks.

I came here because I got a cheap groupon. Five dollars which includes entrance for 1.5 hours and rental. The facility is pretty clean and is simple and has the bare necessities. The skates were uncomfortable and squeezed on the left and right side of my foot. They have hockey shoes or figure skating shoes to choose from. I would recommend hockey shoes for more support unless you’re used to figure skates.
The ice was choppy but I like that it wasn’t crowded. There was lack of music and it would be nice if there were some strobe lights. Overall, it was so so but you get what you paid for.

Well it’s an ice rink. Not sure what others expect. The ice was freshly zambonied and they threw on some music which was nice. We used a Groupon so the price was right. The only complaint was with the rental skates. Dull as if they hadn’t ever been sharpened. Bring your own skates and you’ll be golden.

As far as drop in hockey goes, they over charge you. At every other ice rink, you pay half as much for nearly double the play time, too bad because it used to be great.

I enjoyed my Big Bear experience. I’m not much of an Ice Skater but it was a good diversion on a lazy day off.
My wife and I walked into the dark arena thinking maybe the place was closed. Fortunately it wasn’t but it was clear that the employees were busy elsewhere in the facility. What this translated into was free skate rental and skating for an hour. The employee who helped informed us that there would probably not be anyone at the front counter when we finished and instructed us to just leave our skates on the counter.
I thought this was somewhat strange but I’m not one to question something that free.
So we laced our skates up and headed to the rink. There were about 20 other skaters of all skill levels and ages enjoying the public skating when we hit the ice. We didn’t venture very far from the sides so we can’t speak factually on the rinks conditions other than to say it was fun for novices.
I know this place offers other skating activities that I’m in no way familiar with so like I often say, check out their website for information on classes and such.

Went there for the first time today. Brought my four year old daughter and it was her first time on skates. It was a decent rink in a decent area of town. Here are my suggestions for improving Monday afternoon skating:
1. Play some music.
2. Sell beer.
It cost $ 18.00 for my kid and me to skate (admission price and skate rental) and it cost me another $ 3.00 for the kid to eat out of the vending machine. Free parking.

Went to watch my man friend play hockey here, but before his game we did a public free skate, $ 7 for an hour n-​half, not too shabby. Two rinks, the place looks new since the last time I was here. Still have a great area to view the games and rinks. They serve snacks and BEER! Friendly staff, not über crowded, but plenty of good people watching here for sure. Still impressed by many of the kids who can skate Waaaaay better than I! haha! Great place for a date.

Big Bear is cool. I guess you’d expect that from an ice arena.
But Big Bear is a fun place to go and skate around during the public sessions. You see all levels, from kids just starting out and adults falling on their butts (that would be me) to those pros who can do jumps and spins in the middle of the ice. It can get crowded, and of course you have to watch for the little ones. But I like it.
Mr. Mixer and I love going there for a cheap date night. He glides around and I hold on to him for dear life. It’s rather romantic, really.
There’s nothing incredibly special about Big Bear, except that it’s an ice arena and it’s actually close to where I live. I’ll keep going back.

For Hockey Rink Unilocal I will use a set format:
Overall: 4
Rink Location: 4
Rink Ambiance: 3.5
Adult League skill range: 4
Adult League Top Skill level: 4.5
Adult League Non-​Aggressiveness: 4
Adult Drop In: 3
Skills/​Stick and Puck: 3
Pro Shop: 4
Staff Friendliness: 3.5
Ice Condition — Game Play: 3.5
Ice Condition — Dry after cuts: 2.5
Ice Condition — Smooth after cuts: 3
Ice Condition — Edges: 3
Ice Condition — Board or Glass quality: 3
Cancellations or Schedule Changes: 4
Referees: 4
Nets: 3.5
Website: 3.5
Off-​ice viewing and entertainment: 4
Parking: 5
Pricing: 4
Cleanliness: 3.5
Showers: 3.5
Locker Rooms: 3.5
Notes: Two sheets with a nice pro shop and some training booths for shooting and skating. Upstairs bar and (almost) grill with nice flat screens and a decent view of the ice surfaces.
Top level play is very high and referees seem commensurate with league skill level. Ice times are a little late on some nights. Lower levels are a little more chippy but not unbearable. Drop in often has either too many players (30) or not enough (8 with no goalies). I stopped trying to go to Drop in although I suspect they have some good regular sessions going. Overall my Hockey life is exceptionally enhanced by Big Bear. Thanks guys!
This is an Adult League review and it looks like they have a strong youth program.

My son chose «Hockey Hullabaloo» for his school immersion week, so I went with 20 some 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd graders to DU’s Ritchie Center and Big Bear Ice Arena during the week. Loved Big Bear even though it’s a little more worn than the glitzy DU facilities. The man on staff was so patient with all the little boys who started out with the cool hockey skates, then changed their minds to the less cool looking but easier to skate with (and stop — so important) figure skates. I hadn’t ice skated since Ronald Reagan was in office, but the staff gave me a few tips and I had a ball. I may even get a Dorothy Hamill haircut (not really.)
My kids and I will definitely go back.

I was back in Denver for a conference, but met up with a friend who was an old teammate. The only time we could arrange to get together was when he had a game. He invited me to come and was hoping to get me to fill in. Unfortunately for me, his entire team showed, so I was left to simply watch the game before we were to go hang out. He mentioned to me to go upstairs cause it was a better view, warmer and had beer.
To my delight, sure enough. There is a bar, lounge, hang out area upstairs in between the two rinks. They had two types of beer on tap, Coors (no shock for being in Colorado) and the hockey players favorite, Molson. If I recall correctly, pints were $ 3 each or you could get a pitcher for $ 7. Since I had just two hours or so to kill while he got ready, played and then changed, I powered through two pitchers of Molson’s golden liquid. Wait, that sounds dirty.
Overall, the ice seemed pretty good, the facilities were accommodating and I was able to drink beer, watch my friends game and watch the NHL game on one of the TV’s they had upstairs. This is definitely one of the cooler hockey rinks I’ve been to… and I grew up as a rink rat.

Big Bear ice arena is in the center of the Lowry Housing Development… formally an air force base. The rink has 2 sheets of ice and hosts many adult hockey leagues of various levels. The ice always seems in good condition, although I haven’t played in the summer yet. They have a cozy women’s locker room, which is nice ’cause I like to choose the people who I see naked. It’s miserable to unsuspectingly have it thrown upon you. It tends to get warmer in one rink than the other. My teammates tell me it’s because they used to house nuclear weapons in the «Green Rink». I suspect the are f&%*g with me. I am gullible.