TOP 10 Looking for a great place to take the family skating?
Is there anything more Canadian than ice skating? Although the weather is still seasonably warm, in anticipation of the first cold spell, we offer our list of 10 great nearby places to go skating.
BIG WHITE/APEX
Big White is known internationally for its skiing, but the mountain resort east of Kelowna is also home to Canada’s highest outdoor skating rink.
“Whether you are looking for leisurely ice skating with family and friends, or a friendly pick-up hockey game with the locals, this world-class rink is for you,” Big White’s website states.
Skating at the rink is free, and skates can be rented for $12 an hour. Hockey sticks can be rented for $6 an hour, with a $30 deposit, and helmets are $6 for an hour.
Slap shots are not permitted on the Olympic-sized ice surface. The rink is fully lit for night skating, and there’s a bonfire every day after 3 p.m. to warm up. Snacks and beverages in the nearby ski lodge.
At the Apex Mountain Resort west of Penticton, there’s also a fabulous skating opportunity in the form of the Adventure Skating Loop. It’s a one-kilometre long circle through the forest, the surface maintained to a smooth sheen by a Zamboni. The loop is also lit at night for some special skating magic in the mountains.
BLAIR POND
The City of Kelowna’s official website for Blair Pond lists activities like pickleball, tennis, and hiking. Not skating. Definitely not skating.
But the official line against using the pond as a place to skate in the winter is regularly ignored by many people.
“A lot of kids come here after school,” Scott Graf, an area resident and the rink’s unofficial caretaker, told Global Okanagan last year. “During the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, there was 200 people out there on average every day.”
Skating at the pond is a great way to meet new friends, Scott LaHay, a seven-year resident of the Wilden community told The Daily Courier in January 2017. “I’ve probably met more of my neighbours while skating at the pond than any other way,” he said.
“No skating” signs are put up by the city at several popular locations that draw skaters. The city is concerned about liability issues, as the surfaces are not maintained by the municipality and the ice’s thickness is not measured for safety.
There are, however, no bylaws or fines in place to stop people from skating on the pond. Blair Pond is at 333 Clifton Rd.
CENTENNIAL RINK
Even with its fancy refrigeration equipment, the outdoor rink at Kelowna’s Stuart Park was only scheduled to open yesterday.
But, the Centennial Outdoor Rink in Vernon has been open for some time. It’s located at the city’s recreation complex, 3310-37th Ave.
It’s open as weather permits, providing free skating opportunities throughout the winter. At different times through the day, however, the rink is reserved for school kids, young children, and those interested in playing hockey. Check the City of Vernon’s website for the most up-to-date information.
KELOWNA RINKS
City staff and neighbourhood volunteers help to maintain three outdoor skating rinks around Kelowna.
“The ice is put in and maintained by volunteers with some assistance from our irrigations staff,” says urban forestry supervisor Andrew Hunsberger.
“Our staff make repairs to the boards and deal with other issues,” he says. “These sites don’t have cooling units, unlike Stuart Park, so their operation is heavily dependent on the weather.”
The three locations are at the corner of Stewart Road West and Westridge Road in the Crawford Estates subdivision; at Lillooet Park off Summit Drive atop Dilworth Mountain; and next to South Kelowna Elementary School in South-East Kelowna.
LAKESIDE RESORT
As general manager of the Penticton Lakeside Resort, David Prystay is never afraid to try new ideas, no matter how crazy they might sound.
Four years ago, the resort installed a 32x60 skating rink on its beach area and it’s used by minor hockey teams staying at the hotel, for prebooked birthday parties and anyone just wanting to go for a skate. The view is spectacular. “I was told it’s too warm in Penticton, but we have a chiller and we can keep ice up to six degrees. People love it, it’s been one of the best things we’ve done,” said Prystay, who also organizes a flag football game every winter for the staff.
It’s large enough to play a shinny game of three-on-three hockey (five-on-five if the players are really little.)
The rink will be ready by Sunday for the annual Christmas market and family fun day. It’s open from 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. daily and the public is allowed to use it, provided there’s not a reservation.
For adults, they can always warm up with a hot refreshment at The Barking Parrot, located only steps from the rink.
OKANAGAN LAKE
By some reckonings, Okanagan Lake has not frozen solid for 50 years. Amateur historian Bob Hayes points to 1968-69 as the last time the big pond was sufficiently frozen to allow skating, and even driving, everywhere on its surface.
But during a long cold snap, there are a few particularly shallow shoreline areas that usually freeze over enough to permit skating.
One such place is a beautiful crescentshaped bay in Kelowna immediately south of the Maude Roxby bird sanctuary, accessed from Francis Avenue and Patterson Avenue.
Neighbours get together to shovel the snow, and people sometimes bring barbecues down to the beach while others glide around the ice.
“It looks like a Norman Rockwell painting out there,” Kelowna-Lake Country MLA Norm Letnick said in 2009 of the pleasing sight of people enjoying themselves on a cold winter’s day.
For the record, the City of Kelowna does not advise people venturing onto the ice, and there are “no skating: signs.
“The signs are intended to be a cautionary thing, because we don’t monitor the ice at these locations, so we don’t know whether these areas are safe to skate on or not,” Ian Wilson, a city parks manager, said last year.
PEACHLAND
For many years, the most spectacular outdoor skating rink in the Okanagan was in the hills of Peachland on Turner Avenue.
From there, you could see all the way from Kelowna to Naramata, with a sweeping view of Okanagan Lake. Sadly, that rink is no more as the site is being developed.
But, the town has created a new outdoor rink on Princeton Avenue near the municipal works yard. It’s even higher up, but without as great a view, so ice conditions should be more reliable this winter.
As of last week, the site had been levelled and lights had been installed. Lumber for the sideboards had been bought by the town, but needed to be painted before being installed. Check the town’s website for the opening of the outdoor rink, at 5379 Princeton Ave.
STUART PARK
If this list wasn’t presented alphabetically, Kelowna’s iconic skating rink would probably be ranked No. 1.
Right in the heart of downtown Kelowna, the rink is family-friendly and the holiday lights create a wonderful ambiance.
Before heading out, skaters can go online and check the webcam for ice conditions. Skates, helmets and EZ bars are available for on-site rental at reasonable prices.
Sadly, due to the city’s desire to conserve natural gas, the fire pit located at the north end of the rink won’t be operational this season.
WINTHROP, WASH.
It’s a long way to drive for a skate, but the outdoor rink at Winthrop, Wash. looks like a beauty, eh?
The Old West town in the spectacular Methow Valley, two hours’ drive south of the Canada-U.S. border in Osoyoos, is a popular holiday spot in the summer.
But incredibly, the town of less than 400 year-round residents also boasts an NHLsized, outdoor refrigerated ice rink. That makes it bigger than Kelowna’s popular outdoor rink at Stuart Park.
Winthrop got a Washington State matching grant of nearly $500,000 in 2015 to add refrigeration to the town’s existing rink, and expand an existing service building by 3,000 square feet.
“And the dream of guaranteed, open air, outdoor ice skating came true,” according to the Winthrop Rink website.
Heads up, if you go, though. It costs $9 (U.S) for adults to skate on the rink, and $6 for kids.
CAPRI MALL
Some Christmases from now, this could be another popular place for outdoor skating in Kelowna. The owners of the Capri Mall have ambitious plans to redevelop the with with a mix of high-rises, townhomes, and an entirely new shopping district. A distinctive feature would be a large outdoor skating rink, according to plans now being reviewed by the City of Kelowna. It looks cool. We thought it deserved a place on our Top 10 list. Okanagan Top 10 is an opinion feature which runs every Saturday.