Ice Skating - Tahoe Style
Posted on March 3, 2008
At the Olympic Ice Pavilion at Squaw Valley USA, you skate “on top of the world” with a view of Lake Tahoe. At the Yosemite Outdoor Ice Rink, Half Dome looms overhead. The Siskiyou Outdoor Ice Rink is at the base of 14,162-foot Mount Shasta.
These are the three best outdoor ice-skating rinks in Northern California, first-timers welcome. If you don’t ski, snowboard or snowshoe, and yet still want to catch a winter experience in the mountains, ice skating provides an option that many overlook. It also is an ideal adventure for families. These rinks likely will be open through mid-March.
Olympic Ice Pavilion, Squaw Valley USA
This rink is at 8,200-foot “High Camp,” the mid-mountain luxury accommodations. To reach the rink, take a ride in Squaw’s Cable Car. The rink is Olympic-size, 100 by 200 feet, with a view over a sea of conifers to Lake Tahoe. Nearby restaurants are available. Rates: Cable Car & skate, including skate rental, $26; discounts for youth, seniors and after 5 p.m. Info: squaw.com; reservations at (800) 545-4350; snow phone/info at (530) 583-6955.
Yosemite Outdoor Ice Rink
The Yosemite rink is at Curry Village on the floor of Yosemite Valley, just beneath Glacier Point (3,000 feet up), with a view of nearby Half Dome. Get the picture (literally)? Glide around the rink a few times and you won’t forget it. This is Yosemite’s best family trip in winter, cheap, fun and exhilarating. Rates: $8 plus $3 skate rentals, discounts available. nps.gov/yose; ice rink at (209) 372-8319; Yosemite info at (209) 372-0200.
Siskiyou Ice Rink
The pull of Mount Shasta can feel almost magnetic from anywhere within 100 miles. The rink is at the foot of the mountain in Shastice Park, and on clear days or moonlit nights, skating beneath the glow of Shasta is exciting. This is a big rink, the same size as a pro hockey rink. Rates: $10, plus $2 skate rentals, discounts available for youth. msrec.org/icerink or (530) 926-1702.
Other places of note: The Long Barn Lodge Ice Rink, located in the town of Long Barn on Highway 108 east of Sonora, provides an excellent indoor rink in a lodge/cabin setting. longbarn.com or (800) 310-3533. At Montecito-Sequoia Lodge in Sequoia National Forest (bordering Sequoia National Park), adjacent Lake Homavalo occasionally is converted to an outdoor skating rink. mslodge.com or (800) 227-9900.
Article by: Tom Stienstra - San Francisco Chronicle
» Filed Under Activities, Skiing & Snowboarding Tags: Tags:ice, Lake Tahoe, Olympics, rink, Shasta, Siskiyou, skating, Squaw Valley, Yosemite
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