Toronto Skating Rinks
Toronto runs more than 50 outdoor rinks, and every one of them is free. The season usually runs from late November to March, weather depending, and the City also opens indoor arenas for the colder months if you want ice without checking the forecast. Everyone on the ice needs skates, but beyond that, the rules depend on what you're there for: leisure skating, figure skating, or shinny, each with its own scheduled times.
Outdoor rinks are more weather-dependent than people expect. A heavy snowfall shuts a rink down until crews can clear it, and on unusually warm days, some rinks close too, since not every refrigeration system can keep ice hard above zero. Access isn't even across the city either: most of downtown Toronto is a short walk from a rink, Etobicoke has more rinks than most areas, but parts of Scarborough sit much farther from the nearest one.
So the map below shows the top skating rinks and what's running there: leisure skate, hockey, or figure skating.
Toronto's 10 biggest outdoor ice rinks:
- Colonel Samuel Smith Park Skating Trail — 65 Colonel Samuel Smith Park Dr · ~250 m · figure-8 trail
- The Bentway Skate Trail — 250 Fort York Blvd · ~220 m · figure-8 trail
- Greenwood Park Skating Trail — 150 Greenwood Ave · ~215 m · trail + covered rink
- Natrel Rink (Harbourfront Centre) — 235 Queens Quay W · oversized rectangular rink
- Nathan Phillips Square Rink — 100 Queen St W · civic-square rink, no boards
- Mel Lastman Square Rink — 5100 Yonge St · civic-square rink
- Dieppe Park Rink — 455 Cosburn Ave · double-pad rink
- Sherbourne Common Rink — 61 Dockside Dr · waterfront rink
- Sid Smith Rink (Christie Pits) — 750 Bloor St W · hockey + pleasure pad
- Regent Park South Rink — 480 Shuter St · pleasure + shinny pad
