Northstar Ice Skating Rink

The skates are really dull. All of my friends had issues with their skates. The two stars are really to compliment the live band and the nice seating area around the rink. If you bring your own skates, this rink is fun. Otherwise, it’s less than a rinky dink time.

The worst rink I’ve ever skated on. there were huge potholes in the ice and it wasn’t smooth even after the Zamboni went out. Good enough for kids to go around the railing but if you enjoy skating you’ll be sorely disappointed here.

It’s $ 10 for figure skate rentals all day. However, the popular sizes for rental skates were limited when we came around 3:00 pm on a Saturday mid-​January. Thankfully, the sizes run a little big so I was able to size down to a 5, which they did have available.
Around 3:30pm, they start serving FREE S’MORES around the rink! Just look for the servers with trays of s’mores walking around the seating area. They’re small (half a graham cracker) but hey, it’s free.
Since the rink is so popular, the ice quickly becomes uneven from everyone skate tracks. They do smooth the ice with a zamboni twice a day but even right after there were still some grooves in the ice. The rink is a decent size and there is a railing around the perimeter that is easy to hold on to for those that are just starting out.
This is a nice place to enjoy the fresh mountain air for a bit and there is a decent amount of comfy seating with fire pits around the rink. It’s worth a try if you’re at the resort and want to skate!

We came by around 4:45pm. At first, we were intimidated by the line that snaked outdoors. Someone also came out to say that a lot of the sizes were out. However, the line moves pretty quickly, and we were on the ice by 5:15pm at the latest.
It is $ 10 dollars for an all-​day rental, but free if you have your own skates. No doubt people were hoarding some sizes the whole day, but at this price, it’s pretty reasonable.
I would have liked if the zamboni came a bit more frequently. There are so many people skating that the ice gets really rough really quickly (came during peak season right during New Year’s).
Seating near the rink is hard to come-​by, however, as people are camped out next to the fire and next to the heat lamps.
I wouldn’t blame the dullness of the skates on the establishment, however, because there are people walking around the cement on the periphery of the rink with their skates on who are probably doing most of the dulling.
They did have a band, but they left around 5:00pm, so we could not enjoy them.

The rental skates are still dull, and useless. I swear, the guy is grinding the edge OFF the skates, not sharpening it.
I can only imagine that the attorneys for Vail Resorts advised them to NOT hand out usable skates, lest somebody get cut and file a lawsuit.
If you’re going to go skating, bring your own skates that you know are usable.

We’ve all seen those beautiful figure skaters, gracefully gliding about the ice, and we all think «Gee, that looks easy,» so we lace up our skates and step on the ice. CRASH, that is the sound of you falling and running into someone, quickly realizing this was not at all as easy as you thought. But you keep skating anyways. This gorgeous rink in the center of the Northstar village is a wonderful place to test your skills on the ice. They rent some of the best skates I’ve seen, but make sure to get there early because there are only so many of the nice pairs. I got there at around 3:30, waited in a line for 30 minutes, and accepted a pair of too-​big hockey skates (even though I figure skate). This was my first mistake.
I have always used figure skates, and I have always skated like a pro and wondered why everyone was slipping and sliding around me. The second I stepped on the ice with those hockey skates on I lost all of my balance, and could barely move around the rink. But I awkwardly powered through at least 10 more rounds– second mistake. There were little children racing under me, and the ice had turned into snow. My advice: do not accept hockey skates unless you are a hockey player. They do not support your ankles, and they have no toe pick to help you out. When skating, you do not want your ankles to fall in on themselves, and that was exactly what my strong dancer ankles were doing. My third mistake was leaving without even waiting for a smaller pair of figure skates because the second I returned my skates, a shiny pair of sixes was sitting in the return pile. So make sure you have tried very hard to get your perfect pair of skates before leaving. It’s very important you see.
Overall the rink was very spacious, although a little crowded, and had a live band playing the whole time. Most outdoor rinks aren’t usually this big, so this is definitely one of my favorites. When I’m wearing the right skates that is. But that’s my fault for coming in late I guess. How much can you really say about an ice skating rink though? It was big, kind of crowded, but well placed and well taken care of.
The placing of this rink was critical and they did a great job. They have wonderful cabanas surrounding the rink, and some delicious restaurants and nice clothing stores to. There is also a very conveniently placed Starbucks :). If you walk up the stairs you will also find bungee jumping for children. So if you are looking for a break from skiing and snowboarding, this wonderful little ice rink is a good place to try.

I would really rate this 4 ½ stars. I’m taking ½ a star off for the awful rental skates. The blades are super, super dull — my daughter, who is an excellent skater traded hers in 2 times and both times the skates were awful, even though there’s a sign that says that the skates are sharpened once/​week. Hmmm…
Anyway, the rink is large, and it really is such a pleasant thing to do, as the other reviewers have said. There are pretty sitting areas and 4 fire pits, and fun shops all around. As part of our hotel stay at Northstar we got 2 rental skates free, and the nice DJ gave us a $ 10 gift certificate to use at Northstar.
Very nice time!

For only $ 10 for the day you can ice skate with decent skates and hear live music and site by the firepits to take a break. A great family activity

I came here in the summer with my family and the ice skating rink is turned into a roller skating rink which took me back to my elementary school birthday party days. Roller skating isn’t as easy as it used to be, or as easy as it looks. It is quite hilarious simply to watch kids (and especially adults) try to skate around. My little boy cousins loved the rink though! And on Tuesday nights they have themed 80’s skating with contests and games with a DJ.

Had a fun time at this rink. For some reason when I was snowboarding the rink was a rollerskating rink. It was still enjoyable. Not too crowded, pretty large in the middle of the village, and fairly priced.

The ice was not to fast, but still fun!!! They have a band playing right next to the rink, and seating everywhere! If you have skates, it’s free to skate.

After a day of spending hella money on snowboarding, food, and lodging it’s great to catch a break from money just flying out of your wallet! And this is the place. The ice skating rink at Northstar is ridiculously affordable and hella nice! The rink is surrounded by the lodges, restaurants, and other shops which is great in blocking some of the wind. To top it off, there was live music! What?!? I was like DAMN! I’m not sure if the live music is every day but we went at the right time.
Prices were really low. When I got to the front of the line and found out that the price was only $ 5 for the skate rental and admission I couldn’t believe it! And it was for the whole day too!?! Can’t beat that… The only bad thing I can say is that the guy’s skates aren’t that great. The skates didn’t tie up too well so it felt like there wasn’t enough support on the ankles. Oh well, I didn’t mind too much. Still a great place and price!

You have the most wonderful DJ «Michael». He made our trip, a wonderful experience. Thank you… Rho

cute cute cute, but small. tuesdays have a dj spining disco and cheese, but hey its a family thing. the outdoors bars and fire pits make it a cozy place to hang and watch the kiddies go round.

have to say that I hadn’t put on the hockey skates in a long time and I wasn’t going to embarass myself here. Too much of an urge to want and check a little kid or something. It’s cool that in the new Village that there’s a random 9000 square foot rink in the middle. $ 5 for rentals and if you have your own gear, it’s free. Hard to beat that. It’s little small for a hockey game but I suppose you could always try!