Lake Forest Ice Palace

I brought my kids here over the weekend for a kids birthday party. The ‘party room’ was really small, so they had us in two rooms next to each other. It was a little awkward but I guess we didn’t really spend that much time in the room anyways.
The rink itself looked a little run down. I’m not sure how long it’s been around. It’s located in a business complex. Parking was a nightmare. We had to park at the office building next door. The kids, however, had a fabulous time. I also like how clean and organized the skate rentals were.
It’s extremely cold inside, as expected. Bring a coat. I was so concerned about grabbing jackets for my kids that I forgot to bring mine. Lucky for me, a friend brought an extra coat for me to use. Hallelujah!

Really fun ice rink. They don’t have lockers, but it’s ok. Great for birthday parties. The staff is helpful and very nice

Very average rink.
Boards are angled outward from lack of good bracing.
Ice is very soft, I have no idea why they have windows in an ice rink.
The sun actually shines on the ice in the late afternoon.
No showers means smelling like ass after your game when you’re trying to wheel at BDubs down the hill.
Guys that work there are cool and will help out if asked.
Any ice is better than no ice but I think the four rink complex going in at the Great Park soon will turn this barn into a wet puddle.
Too bad that space with the foot hockey setup can’t be turned into a bar…

They recently added two small sets of bleachers to the southeast side of this indoor rink which makes it nice to watch the games from. Their coffee machine has saved me more times than I can remember and the changing rooms are pretty roomy, considering all the gear. Very friendly, professional staff and ample parking. There are some snack machines and a few video games for older guests. Best perk for little siblings: cute indoor street hockey area! Score!

Heard about this place from friend and was told I had to go here. So I went with a party of 7, not an issue at all. Everyone placed their order and as I placed my order, since I have never had Lobster tail before and it was a special occasion, I also ordered one of these. Our orders came and everyone had their different orders. Halfway through my meal I reminded that I also ordered a Lobster tail which had not yet been served, I was basically finished with my meal and had to ask about my Lobster tail. they had told me they had forgot but had it on their order for us. It was brought as we were all conversing and getting ready to go. Unbelievable price for Lobster tail especially when it comes when you are already full. I do not plan on going back to this place.

Great place for open skating. We had an instructor come by to teach my daughter how to skate for the first time!

For a newer hockey facility (opened 2013), and single sheet of ice, the playing surface is not great. The edges and boards are both slanted out. Ice, 30 degrees, boards, 10 degrees.
There are 4 large locker rooms, but no showers, which was a huge disappointment. The building was nearly 60 degrees inside and since it was very humid, I was dripping sweat in the first five minutes of stick time (free hockey skating with pucks and goals).
The best thing about their stick time (I went on a Tuesday) was an extra 15 minutes longer than most in the area, but I was restricted to using ¹⁄₆^th of the ice surface with a total of about 9 – 10 people (and 3 of them were unsupervised little kids… ugh). The other 2/​3rds of the ice were reserved for private coaching /​clinics, and the goal next to us had a 15 year old noob goalie that nobody felt comfortable shooting on, especially since he was just learning positioning.
I’m really not that impressed overall, I was hoping it would be better. I guess if I’m in the South OC (and don’t have much time to drive all day) I’ll stick to Aliso or Yorba if I need some quick stick time. At least I didn’t waste a lot of time driving around, and I needed the ice time really really bad so I guess that counts. But having to hobo shower or hoof it to LA Fitness to rinse off after playing hockey for an hour+ isn’t really my idea of a great time. The only bathroom isn’t even located next to the locker rooms, it’s kinda like everything was an afterthought here.

Good location only problem.. Want to have a skating session be prepared to be cut up by people in hockey gear and figure skaters. Don’t they have their own time to do there thing. How can you learn to skate when someone whirls past your ear and lands on their rear? Not for that would have given it a 5

Two of my sons played a tournament here over President’s Day weekend. They both said the ice was soft. I noticed during one game there were still puddles from the Zamboni at the beginning of the second period. The boards are out of vertical. They lean slightly to the outside of the rink.
As a spectator, it would be nice if there were stands. I have no problem standing outside the glass, but if the crowd is big, there is not enough room.

so now there isnt even saturday stick time — come on guys… for a normal adult to have any stick time for conditioning or just general practice in southern ca you have to drive to Anaheim. being from Lake Forest that kind of sucks since Lake Forest Ice palace is less than 2 miles away. im sure all of us adults who skate there will agree. there needs to be more ice time other than pick up and league.

Great pace to have a birthday party for a reasonable price. 10 kids for 200 gets you a party room, instructor, free lesson, skate rental and public session. They even let you bring your In your own food, cake and beverages .
Fun and stress free party!

This is my first review ever! I had to write a review. My daughter just had her 7^th bday at this place and it was awesome! They were sooo helpful and accommodating to my big party. I had about 30 kids that wanted to ice skate and their ages ranged from 2 – 14. They had the shoes for all of them and even help tie them and put them on for some of the kids. There was a super fun and nice young lady that gave a lesson to all that kids and parents that wanted to ice skate and everyone just loved it. She even helped and skated with some of the little ones and they just thought she was awesome!
I was soo happy with this place and their customer service! They worked with me and my large party and never gave me a hassle about anything. I was one happy mom and my daughters bday was a total success!

No place to sit and watch. During open skates there is no staff on the ice so you have grown men and hockey players racing around small children learning to skate. Dangerous.

Hidden gem, not a lot of seating or amenities, but definitely worth the price for a casual skate. Skates are decent quality and the ice is not crowded.

Half way decent to play a game here but there is no seating to watch your kid’s games. Terrible layout. If I could, I would skip games on the schedule at this rink.

This rink is convenient to my work. It is tucked away inside a business park.
The ice is in good shape and the staff is nice. If you walk in the front door there isnt an office window there, you have to walk halfway down to get to the window, or enter in the side entrance. The layout is kinda awkward and confusing, but after my first time it is fine. The layout is a little unique, but the ice is good. There is a pro shop there, but it has been closed every time I have been there.
They have a «Lunch Bunch» special if you work in the area — Tuesday and Thursday from 11am-​1pm admission and skates for $ 6. I only know about this because my coworkers daughter skates there. I love having the ability to skate during my lunch break!

Great to play but not to watch. One ice rink with several tables to sit but if you’re there to cheer a team on, you have to stand on the bench the whole time. With two kids, its impossible to watch hockey.
A great place though to play broomball or have a party.

Lake Forest Ice Palace is a well hidden secret and when I discuss it with most Lake Forest residents, they are surprised to hear a rink exists in town. Strange marketing strategy and the temporary sign out front isn’t exactly compelling. Just an update that there is now a sign out front.
HOCKEY
First found LFIP when son was looking into ice hockey. We came across Coach Joe and his passion and knowledge for hockey helped the transition from neophyte to a hockey family. Coach Joe has a very positive attitude and has taught my son a great deal about hockey in a short period of time. Why this guy isn’t in charge of the whole rink is beyond me. If you have hockey questions or are looking into hockey, Coach Joe is a great place to start.
GENERAL
Place is clean, has wifi, locker rooms, and some of the usual stuff, but looks to me like it hasn’t figured out what it wants to be when it grows up. It is far cleaner than Aliso Viejo and since it is often less crowded, it can be a less frustrating experience.
No food place or bleachers like many other rinks have, but there are vending machines.
One unique spot is the floor hockey area where kids sometime play floor hockey for free.

Bought a Groupon some time last year to come to the Ice Palace and I was not sure what to expect but the it was a wonderful place for my 1^st time ice skating experience!
It is a VERY random place to have a rink, so that makes it a bit hard to find.
Nice facility, gets a bit crowded during the Public Skating Hours, definitely would go again!

I didn’t even know this place existed. Seriously. It’s nestled among other industrial buildings in the boonies of Lake Forest.
This place gets pretty packed, but there was sufficient parking. The Ice Palace is open to hockey, has a skate school, groups, private parties, freestyle, and broomball. Open skate sessions are from 2pm to 5pm on Saturdays, but I can’t skate for 3 hours. Even though 3 hours is excessive, it’s nice to have that much time.
The price is pretty great too. It only costs $ 14 with skate rental. $ 12 if you already have your own skates. I’m glad the Ice Palace is around. There are too few rinks in the OC.
Note: bring long socks to avoid skin contact with rough parts of the skates.