Lanham Skate Center

This skating rink is reminiscent of a middle school gymnasium in a small town… this place screams 1982 with not one drop of a renovation in sight… BUT it is an outlet for the community and neighborhoods.
I have been to this establishment 2 to 3 times for special occasion parties. Recently I’ve found a renewed interest in Adult skate night.
On adult skate night the entry fee is $ 10…clearly I’ve bee. Out of the loop for a while because the sticker price shocked me. There will be another fee to rent skates and lockers (per fees at any rink). There is a refreshment bar with goodies for kids… and amusement park type food. A DJ sits cattacorner to the skating floor. Beyond the dj there are picnic style tables for groups or individuals to eat the amusement park food. Great for parties!
There is a beam that spans around the rink as a barrier (or helpful support if you fall). The outside is for the fast skaters… stay more near the middle gym circle to stay out of their way. You can even practice skating and skate tricks in the middle of the floor in this compact circle.
There are rules to abide by:
No cellphones on the floor. (I keep mine in my pocket to track my calories though)
Don’t wear your sweater around your waist if you get hot. It must come off (I was warned by a skate cop)
Stay to the inside unless you want to get «ranned» over
When skating backwards, look over your should both ways… consistently and constantly to avoid incident (I learned this the hard way… even after someone gave me that tip ON the foor)
And the best tip of all… watch and learn! There are some phenomenal skaters with rhythm, style, nice skates, routines and more. I plan to come back on a regular basis! Come join!

The second I pulled my car up to the building, I wanted to turn around. The outside was far from impressive and the no refund policy fueled my hesitation.
Still, my companions and I continued in. The inside reminded me of almost any other skating rink – albeit a little rundown looking.
I immediately headed over to rent roller blades, only to learn that they only rent out roller skates. (If you want to use roller blades, you have to bring your own.) So, I settled for roller skates and stored my things in a locker. (Note that the lockers require cash and you have to pay every time you open it.)
After everyone got laced up, we took to the floor to skate. Now, I have to admit that it took me a little while to get comfortable. Unlike most people, I find roller blades easier to skate on.
Shortly after, I got yelled at by an employee for holding my phone in my hand. (I didn’t have any pockets.) Apparently They have a very strict no cellphone policy on the rink. Even when I promised not to sue them or do anything else foolish in the event something happened to my phone, they wouldn’t budge. Luckily, one of the people I came with had pickets, so I just left my phone with her.
Once I got back to skating I noticed something strange. At first I thought I was being paranoid but no.
Not only could the majority of the people here – primarily adults – skate well but they could do all sorts of tricks. I’m serious, y’all. I felt like I was in Roll Bounce. People were spinning around on one leg, skating backwards, doing flips, etc. it wasn’t just 1 or 2 people either.
At one point they cleared the floor so anyone who wanted to skate backwards quickly could and more than ¼ of the people there stayed on the floor.
I appreciated the fact that there were mostly adults there, but my entire group was intimidated with the skill of everyone else there. Seriously, even two little kids were outshining us with their tricks.
The music is great – they play ran and r&b, but be prepared to reevaluate your skill as a skater. Otherwise, this is a great place for adults looking to roller skate.