Prospect Park’s Kate Wollman Rink

I don’t know anything about general skating. I was enrolled in Monday hockey program for 2 years. Loved it! 2 hour practice, outside, huge ice, usually very good quality. Yes, it’s a gamble — if it’s raining you are missing your practice, but still. Skating almost nonstop. The program covers most of the important things, skating, shooting, strategy, puck handling. From beginners to intermediate level (if you are retired NHL star you most likely will be bored, but still will enjoy fresh, crispy air).

Brian Boitano I’m not, but since MLK holiday weekend was unseasonably mild and I figured some sort of outdoor exercise would be fun, Alex S. and I went to Wollman Rink in Prospect Park to attempt ice skating. Unfortunately, we weren’t the only ones thinking that outdoor exercise would be fun. There was a long, long line. Fortunately, as the sun was rapidly setting, the line moved quickly.
The staff selling tickets and doling out skates were reasonably pleasant considering the onslaught of people, thank heavens. The facilities are functional and the rink is located next to the lake. Chain link fencing festooned with holiday lights surrounds the place… festive, but it’s still chain link fencing.
Skating was fun — many people of all levels of accomplishment were having a great time. There were a few kids and daredevils of all ages weaving speedily in and out but it was generally pretty safe. For those of you who don’t skate much and decide to give it a try, you will hurt in surprising places the next day… a good hurt though!

I love skating here. Right now, there’s a special for buy 1 admission/​skate get 1 next visit for free. My friend and I went to skate this past weekend and enjoyed it very much! Granted, it was crowded and the ice wasn’t in the best condition (lots of people = lots of ice shavings, not very smooth ice, extremely rough), but I like how it’s affordable at $ 5 admissions if you have your own pair of skates.
But warning, this rink has a lot of little kids so they’re always falling all over the place. Have to be careful about going around them. since they’ll fall any minute! They’re just too cute!~

i hate ice skating.
i am an ice skating curmudgeon.
this rink is often used as a school fund raiser, and the kids and adults seem to have a jolly good time.
i had a jolly good time too… after sharing spiked hot chocolate w/​j.
i watched people fall on their tuckasses. it was charming.

I love Prospect Park Wollman Rink!!! I don’t even like ice skating!
We arrived at 2p (for the 2 – 6 shift), and there were about 30 people in front of us. We waited about 10 minutes until we got to the front of the line. The building is really warm, and there’s a lot of seating. The staff is very helpful and friendly. The price is $ 5 to skate the rink and another $ 6.50 for skate rentals. The hot chocolate/​apple cider is $ 1.50! What a bargain! Since you’re locked in there with no place to eat or drink for miles, they can charge whatever they like and yet they decide $ 1.50 is a fair price.
I will definitely come back with a large group. With a parking lot right next to the rink, who really needs to go to Central Park?!

This rink is awesome!
It is not as crowded at the ones in Manhattan, it’s cheaper, and the line are shorter. Also, it is completely non-​romantic, so you are much less likely to get plowed into by some dufus and his
date there on rental skates.
And they play ABBA.
There is a free parking lot right near the rink.
Bring a lock for your locker.

This is one of the cheapest rinks I’ve been to. It’s also one of my favorites. I havent gone here since 2005 but I remember it wasn’t crowded, the rink is open until 11 on weekends and the ice is polished every two hours. They have a food stand that also sells hot chocolate. Yum yum. Now that I’m writing this, it is kind of making me want to go and soon.
This is an outdoor rink so dress appropriately, they have lockers and I would highly recommend to bring in your own lock if you dont want to pay for one. I believe they are open from thanksgiving to february– depends on the weather

We just had our son’s birthday here — and it really was great. I highly recommend it. It was cost effective, super fun for the kids, and they were pretty accommodating. For $ 375, you get up to 30 guests (kids + parents), grub (hotdog or pizza), unlimited soda and hot chocolate, use of the party room for 2 hours, and entrance through the side (no lines). You can also pre-​register for skates so the skates are waiting in the room for you so guests don’t have to wait on line to get rentals. The only minus is that the rentals are pretty sucky and painful, so I’d advise guests to bring their own skates if they have them. The staff was pretty accommodating and got people replacement skates when it didn’t work out and didn’t kick us out right when our party time expired (we lingered). Also, after the party time, people were still free to be able to skate (we had the party room until 3 PM) and they let people skate the next session, 4 — 6 for free. Luckily, the weather was also great (was cold but no rain or freezing wind), but they also have a rain policy where if the weather is bad, you can pick another day or get your money back.
Getting there is pretty simple — it’s close to the B/​Q Parkside stop at ocean and parkside. If your guests have a car, there’s a parking lot for the rink that is accessible during the weekends.
You’re experience might differ if you book for a different time, and I was told that the 1 – 3 spot was optimal. I find that to be the case because it’s less crowded during this time then the afternoon sessions, which seem to be a magnet for the teen crowd (the party we had was for k to 1^st graders).
Probably the most difficult thing about this space is booking the date/​time that you want, so be the early bird on this.
Another plus — you’re just a short walk to flatbush ave, where you can get some good west indian grub.

Wollman Rink reminded me why I love my neighborhood. Parents with their kids, teenagers hanging out, middle aged folks and child prodigies all skated side by side.
A beautiful thing, even on uneven ice.
Also, my legs are super sore. If you are out of shape, like myself, a straight hour of speeding around in a circle could possibly not be the best idea.
Thanks Wollman Rink.

the rink is substantially bigger then lasker and bryant park combined. i have my skates to only $ 5 for admission. $ 6 for skate rental but it’s a deal. the staff there are great. regulating on the annoying kids speeding past beginner skaters. also, when a poor soul has taken a frightful spill and having problems getting up they will announce for all to hit the rails and clear the way. that’s what i call a great rink. i’ll be back.
also, the music is eclectic to say the least, from oldies to indie rock to trance. they got it all.

Even though I went ice skating yesterday, fell when I was trying to help up my boyfriend, smacked my head on the ice, had to go to the ER by ambulance, and now have face contusions, I LOVE Wollman Rink.
Anyway! I love that out of many of the rinks in New York, Wollman is very no-​frills and doesn’t seem to attract too many tourists. It’s slightly gritty, but in a small-​town kind of way. The snack bar is bare-​bones, and serves up guilty pleasure comfort food: nachos with «cheese» sauce, hot pretzels, hot chocolate, grilled cheese. The lockers are free if you bring your own lock! The bathrooms are dirty, but there are 5 stalls per gender.

$ 11 altogether for (weekends) entrance and skate rentals!
plus we got a free ride from the parks dept. people even though the trolley was no longer running because the rink was the last stop at 6pm. got home and double checked Prospect Parks web-​page for the trolley schedule and realized how truly funny it was that we got a ride from a non-​trolley van that had a trolley sign on the window.
thanks p-​park peeps!