Longacre Skating Pavilion

I’ve been on an ice skating «kick» this year, since the opening of the Maggie Daley Park Ice Ribbon in Chicago. I turned my friends’ family of four from Milwaukee (Shorewood, to be exact) onto it. They repaid the favor when I visited them last weekend.
And what a great experience this outdoor, flooded rink is! We went on a Saturday, mid-​afternoon, and there was plenty of room to play, even to practice our inadequate backwards skating. What’s more, there is a separate section for hockey from the larger, main rink. (Then again, I must admit that there were a few too many kids passing the puck in the main rink…)
There’s also a warming house with a big log fire smack dab in the middle! The room itself was just a little smokey (though mainly well-​ventilated); so I wouldn’t want to linger too long. And there’s a no-​cooking policy, which is unfortunate for you (and me) s’mores lovers.
But all in all, I’d return here in a heartbeat, if it weren’t about 7,500 heartbeats (100 miles) from my home.