I love this local rink. The ice rink is open during winter and the swimming is open during summer. They offer a variety of skate class options for those of us who are newbs to the art, even offering children and toddler classes. There's seating inside and outside of the rink space and a snack bar with hot dogs, slushies, popcorn, and all the goodies! And the folks behind the skate rental desk are super helpful. Great Ithaca winter or summer adventure spot! read more

See all

This place is wonderful, they switch the rink from ice to normal smooth floor for Ice skating and roller skating. They have food here also. I never have been in the pool or playground, it's a stress reliver to come and meet others who enjoy the same hobbies or to start learning a new skill. They have passes so you can come in and enjoy without spending too much at a time. read more

Drove by Cass Park on my way into Ithaca, immediately noticed the large pool, waterslide, playground and kid friendly environment. Searched the park online before heading to it the next day. My kids had a blast here, loved the big pool, also enjoyed playing in the little kids pool area. I, however, was not impressed with the exterior of the building, and lack of maintenance around the building/grounds area. It seemed a little run down and not well maintained or cared for. It kind of bummed me out because I really wanted to brag about this place, but felt it needed some major updates within. read more

Cass Park Rink & Pool - Playgrounds Near Me - Ithaca, New York

Nice place for long, easy walks along the Waterfront Trail...great for dogs too (and since it spills right into the marina park where there is a huge, well-used dog park, you may as well stop by as well if you have a pooch). Biking in Cass and over into Stewart Park is nice. Cass Park also leads to the Black Diamond Trail which lands you at Taughannock State Park--great for biking and walking. I've never walked all the way up to Taughannock (that is a loooooooong walk), but biked there and bike a bunch of times and it is a great workout. Challenging, but not killer. My best bike time up from Cass to Taughannock was just under 50 minutes. read more

Bare essential outdoor Arena in Ithaca. Bleachers on only one side and not a lot of seating. read more

Cass Park Rink & Pool - Rink - Playgrounds Near Me - Ithaca, New York

See all

Pretty run down. We went for a birthday party and the party space was near the restrooms...a poor location for food consumption, to say the least. The main waiting area was dirty (popcorn all over the floor) and crowded. The rental skates were not in good condition. I've also never seen orange traffic cones used to help non-skaters, but I haven't around ice rinks enough to know what's standard. The upcoming renovation is desperately needed. read more

I love this park ... it has a fitness trail you can walk, run or bike, with regular stops with simple exercise equipments (no need to pay for the gym! - the new one by Park Road is especially nice) ... the trail goes along the nice view of inlet and passes through / by (depending on how you walk it) Ithaca Children's Garden, the Turtle Gaia, playgrounds, athletic fields, ice skating rink, dog park, bird panels, and much more. Really nice walk all the way down to the adjacent State Marine Park. They put a chemical called Sonar(?) in water to fight invasive species recently so there is a warning sign all around ... But the littering, as with all the other locations around Ithaca, is really eye sores .... I found a heap of trash by an audience stand at one of the athletic field. Plastic bags and bottles and such. These items do not decompose and hurt our biosphere ... please, I hope people will realize their foolishness, and stop littering. There should be signs all over Ithaca, or wall arts to combat littering ... I love those relatively new wall arts all around Ithaca, but I think adding anti-littering messages will be a very good touch. read more

See all

Pros: Large; great for sports; decent playgrounds; near the water; great views; very nice paved trail; free; ample parking most of the time Cons: maintenance can be poor, especially in the non-summer months; often floods and stays flooded; attracts all stripes, but a good portion of whom have poor park etiquette read more

Cass Park Rink & Pool - Softball field - Playgrounds Near Me - Ithaca, New York

Ok, so they're using the same skates they had when I was a kid, 30 years ago. And their prices are a little step ($9 for an adult unless you sign up for a Rec Card - and if you're an Ithaca resident, you should. It's free.) But everything else about Cass Park is so quaint and wonderful. The lockers still cost 25-cents. The snack bar still sells Nerds and Fun Dip (and bags of mini carrots for the health-conscious). The skate guards are all delightful teenage boys who are actually enthusiastic about helping people learn to skate. A friend and I took her 3-year-old skating for the first time, and one of the guards helpfully gave us a construction cone for the little one to hang onto as we navigated the ice. It still took us 45 minutes to go 1/4 of the way around the rink. But it was a memory I will cherish always. read more

Oh the memories I have of Cass Park. I learned to skate here and developed my love of ice skating through years of skate practice and help from the skate guards. I have never seen skate guards at any other place that are so willing to help kids, young and old, figure out the mechanics of skating. I miss living in Ithaca and making my weekly visit to the rink for some laps and hot chocolate. I also discovered the glorious candy-nerds- from here. Strawberry is still my favorite. The facilities are a bit quaint, and some of the skates are getting old, but if you want an unbeatable experience check it out. Plus, there aren't many places were you get an outdoor rink the size of Cass Park anymore. read more

Absolutely a great park that we visited to watch some Roller Derby on Saturday night. The park itself is great, nice playground, soccer fields all over (there were some games going on), and other fields all around. Has an outdoor hockey rink that the roller derby was in, it was covered with a temporary roof. Great set up and was very cheap to get in and watch the action. You could easily move around, see from wherever you were. I am sure in the winter time it is full of kids and families skating and I bet it is a great place to watch a hockey game. read more

Great place to go skating. The pool is a fun place for kids in the summer. So many great childhood memories here.

Cass Park has the only outdoor rink that I know of in the Ithaca area, and it's open from October-March. It's a pretty fun crowd that comes here. The skate guards are friendly, the skaters tend to be cute children and their parents, guys skating impressively on hockey skates, or some of the college crowd. It's also nice that they will occasionally announce a chance for people to skate clockwise. Sometimes one end of the rink will be sectioned off for lessons. The ice is of a decent quality and when it is crowded they'll resurface it every 90 minutes or so. They also have lockers to store your stuff and concessions. All in all, it's a pleasant place to go skating. *However*, I would highly discourage anyone from coming here for any sort of maintenance for their skates. They are not professional, and it also doesn't seem like they understand basic blade sharpening--at least, not for figure skates. The 2 people working there that I spoke with could not tell me what radius of hollow they used to sharpen their figure skates, and when I received my skates back, the blades had been sharpened but there were no edges (the blade still had it's 'factory' shape)! At best, sharpening here is a waste of $7. At worst, they will ruin a set of blades. And by the way, no refunds! If you do decide to take a gamble for the thrill of it, don't count on having your skates sharpened in one-day, as they will promise you. read more

We visited the pool area for the first time this weekend. It was very clean and nice but there's too many rules that aren't listed anywhere. I don't understand why babies/toddlers can't use floating devices in the pool? Wouldn't that make it safer? Also, there was this one lifeguard that was flat out rude and mean to the children. There's no need to yell at toddlers when they don't know the rules. Overall it was good. read more

An Ithaca landmark for hockey players and ice skaters. Outside rink which offers a great view of city skyline, it's just a cool place to go to from late October to March. Yes, if you go often, you should get a season pass to save $ but it's also a City-run rink and for the budget, they do an awesome job running it! read more

Cass is a fantstic community recreation center that teaches swimming in the summer and supports local hockey and skating in the winter. It's quaint and friendly, and its $1 coffee or cocoa keeps you warm as you watch hockey in the still open-air rink! Join local businesses and community members who are raising money to upgrade the facility while keeping its charm. http://www.ithacajournal.com/story/news/local/2017/08/10/cass-park-efforts-ramp-up-enclose-arena/557525001/ read more

Zamboni driver didn't show, ice was roughest my kids have ever skated on. I skated one lap, was in too much pain, came right back to desk, but they wouldn't issue a refund -- only a credit. I don't live in the area, so credit was of no use to me. Besides, I think it's cheap and lousy not to refund someone who goes out for 3 minutes and comes back unable to skate due to foot pain. (tried two pairs of skates, btw) read more

The pool area and the ice rink is in a big need of updating it looks like it did 30 years ago it needs to be more inviting and up with times