Northern California’s Most Beautiful Outdoor Ice Rink Prepares for Winter Opening

As a Northern California resident, skating on a beautiful outdoor ice rink might seem foreign. When you add the stunning view of Mount Shasta hovering above, you realize that this isn’t just another ice rink – it’s completely one-of-a-kind. And it’s reopening for the winter season this week.

The Siskiyou Ice Rink is set to open to the public on November 19 and will stay open through the winter until February 12, 2023. Its weekly schedule will include numerous public skates, group skates and hockey programs.

At the Siskiyou Ice Rink, you can be a novice skater looking for a rare ice experience, an amateur looking to nail your first figure skating trick or a pro showing off your skills in a hockey game, this rink literally has something for everyone. Programs offered at the rink include open family skating, a full hockey program, learn-to-skate and figure skating classes, competitions and shows.

The rink continues to make improvements to the beautiful ice rink in Mount Shasta year-over-year. The past five seasons have seen the rink’s expansion to being a full National Hockey League standard sized rink, new dasher boards were acquired and installed, the entire chiller system was upgraded, issues with the rink’s cement pad were addressed, the area around the fire pit was improved, new hockey netting was put up, and much more, including helping make youth hockey accessible to all youth wanting to participate.

The rink was first built in 2000, and its road to success has been a slow, bumpy process. The rink originally consisted of a set of boards around the rink, a chilling system and plumbing system to move coolant to the ice surface and a Zamboni to clean the ice. The plumbing consisted of plastic tubes embedded in a sand floor. In 2004 a cement pad was poured below the ice, greatly improving its quality. Each addition and improvement to the rink was made possible by donations, grants and community fundraising.

Today, the rink is flourishing with out-of-towners and locals alike flocking to the rink to free skate or play hockey. If you haven’t had a chance to experience one of the true winter gems of Northern California, it’s well worth the commute and potential cold weather. Dress warm and prepare for an experience you’ll never forget.

For more information on the Siskiyou Ice Rink and Friends of Siskiyou Ice Rink go to siskiyourink.org.