Winnetka Ice Arena

I concur with some of the less than stellar reviews — based primarily upon the lack of free skating times during the week. During the season, they have 1 after-​school free skating time during the week. That is weak. The outdoor rink in Glencoe has free skating pretty much every day, but that rink is like a lake if the temperature is too high. And, to echo the gripes of others, the one day of free skating is open to teachers doing, not only figure skating lessons in the middle, but they allow hockey skating lessons in the far end of the rink. This creates a lot of confusion and compromises safety when there a lot of skaters on the ice.
The staff members are all very friendly, but I think they are at the mercy of the park district’s unfortunate money grab for rink revenue.

When my daughter told me she wanted to star in Disney On Ice I figured we should start with a few ice skating lessons. My original plan was lessons at Glencoe’s Watts because I love supporting the amazing facilities in our town. But then the Floridian in me started to get a bit nervous about an outdoor rink during those really cold days. No thank you.
Since winnetka has an indoor ice arena I turned to them. Unfortunately, their class schedule didnt work around all of my daughters other activities (overscheduled child alert). Instead I spoke to the skating director, Florence, about private lessons for my daughter and a few of her friends. At first Florence seemed hesitant that any of her busy skating instructors would have time for another private lesson, but she promised she’d look into it. A few weeks later I still hadn’t heard back so I followed up… and then received an call from a skating coach named Molly who would be thrilled to give us private lessons. I had heard Molly’s name floating around other moms at our pre-​school so knew we were in good hands.
Molly has now given my daughter lessons twice and will continue to every week from here on. From the moment we met her I was a fan and my daughter took to her instantly. She’s great with little ones and you can tell she’s done this many times before. So far all they’ve really done is practice falling and skating a little to pick up stuffed animals, but my daughter absolutely loves it (and Molly). 5+ stars for Molly! She’s teaching our group of 3, but so far only 2 kids have shown up each time. Personally I think 2 kids is plenty with new skaters ones and wouldn’t recommend more than that for privates. Molly charges us $ 25/​kid, but if only one child shows up its $ 40. You also need to pay for ice time and skate rentals in addition to the lesson.
Winnetka ice arena also has open skating hours, but the majority of the times conflict with our school schedule or my other child’s naps during the weekend. We will definitely check it out at some point though to practice. Disney on Ice here we come!

This rink offers skating for all levels. From instructional to competitive. Athletes need a place like this rink to thrive. Great place to start your skating/​hockey career. Great rink to continue your love of the ice!!!

I took my students here for a field trip for free skate. We were able to rent skates and have fun, but as time went by, the number of lessons taking place increased. I felt like we were intruding upon the hockey lessons on one end and the figure skating lessons in the middle. It was difficult for us to skate around them and it was intimidating for our beginning skaters when you have a figure skater coming at you and you do not know how to stop. There were also a ton of really young kids about 3 or 4 years old that would just stop moving in front of you. It felt like an obstacle course. The staff was super friendly though!

Winnetka Ice Arena wasn’t my primary ice rink growing up, but I used to come skate here during the annual period in the late spring /​early summer when most of the other area rinks were closed. I also attended a couple of their ice shows when I had friends participating.
While Winnetka’s ice rink isn’t a terrible place by any stretch, I definitely found it somewhat limiting as a competitive skater. There’s only one rink, with no studio rink, so there’s a huge fight between practice ice for figure skaters, group lessons, ice hockey, and public sessions for ice time. As a result ice skating times are limited for all groups. On most practice sessions I also had a very hard time doing much practicing around the beginner-​level skaters. The ice rink’s metal benches are not only uncomfortable but freezing! The area to put on and take off skates is also very small, with not enough room for everyone much of the time.
The staff here is very nice but definitely focused on skating as purely a recreational activity. I think that for young kids and people who want their skating to be purely recreational that Winnetka Ice Arena is a perfectly good option for someone local, but I found Winnetka’s rink didn’t meet my needs very well.