Great park with plenty of space, the 4th of July event does get very busy with many kids so make…read moresure to get there early and bring some blankets or chairs to hang out!

While Golden Gate Park might have the greatest free children's playground in the world…read more(https://www.yelp.com/biz/golden-gate-park-childrens-playground-san-francisco?osq=Koret+Childrens+Quarter), recently renovated Howard Park in South Bend, Indiana, comes in a photo-finish close second. And if I'm being honest, Howard Park makes much more interesting use of its physical geography than Golden Gate Park does with that single playground, so the nod may go to Mayor Pete's hometown. It gives me so much hope that architects and landscape architects and engineers are still willing to build public areas that are both functional and physically attractive. The playground part of the park incorporates so many wonderful and unusual elements. Just when you think you can't be surprised again, you get surprised again. All of my nieces and nephews are older now, but I wish this place had existed in 2014 so that I could have brought their young selves to explore it in its entirety. So that's the playground. Like twelve stars out of five. The rest of the park is well maintained and laid out nicely. There are areas to picnic or just lounge and enjoy the weather in the summer. I know, I know, South Bend has bad weather for much of the year. But you know what? You could do a lot worse than coming to the nearby farmers market to pick something up for a late-breakfast/early-lunch picnic at Howard Park before a Notre Dame football game on a crisp autumn Saturday. Thanks, South Bend politicians and city employees, one-and-all. (I'd thank Mayor Pete, but I don't know whether he played any part in this project, and I'm still a little annoyed with him for having moved to Michigan--once you're elected mayor of somewhere, I feel like you should live there the rest of your life if you can.) Who says the Midwest can't have nice things?

Today we attended yet another birthday party here for a daughters' classmate. Here are my…read moreobservations in update.. With the rearranging of the picnic tables, the small party space now seems to be a bit bigger. Upon arrival I was pleased to see it decorated per the parents decorations, so it would appear my last review was taken into account by letting future parties in a few minutes before to decorate. Staff was very polite & helpful. Again, not much has changed in leu of decor. Walls surrounding the skate floor look like they were painted by a toddler. I don't think it would cost the owner much to think of a more aesthetic alternative. Perhaps let artists from the local high school have at it? As for the food.. imagine my surprise when the parents didn't bring their own pizza & instead opted for a dozen 6" mini pizzas from the snack bar. I watched dumbfounded as the staff shuffled the pizzas between two microwaves. Every food item available seems to be nuked, there are no fryers that I see. I ordered my son some mozza stix, they had a really strange taste.. I hope they're not expired or bad. I'll update my review should we get sick later. All in all, the kids had a good time. I think with a few more improvements, this place could be great!

We had a great!! I live in Michigan and sometimes there's nothing to do, so we went to a Birthday…read moreparty and all the Children had a great time. They didnt care what it looked like, they had the rink to themselves and that was the best thing ever. Bring decorations and food, cake. Its for the kids not snotty people who only go by looks. My children can't wait to go back!@!!!

We came here for hockey tournament game, hosted in the Notre Dame area in South Bend, about an…read morehour south. It was a decent rural drive, through small towns and blueberry and apple farms, and when we first saw the arena from the outside, it was a mix of awe and curiosity. My son thought it looked shady (in a bad way), nested in the middle of local homes and businesses. I didn't know what to expect, so when I saw this outdoor rink (ODR) had a roof and an attached building, I was optimistic. I thought the kids would have to dress in the trunks of their cars and waddle through snow to get to the rink. I was pleasantly surprised at the level of sophistication. There's a lobby with a heater inside, so I watched the game from there at first. Many of the parents did, given that it was about 7 degrees F, with 30mph winds. Later in the 1st period I noticed there were parents in the outdoor stands. I found out that there were overhead heaters there and it provided just enough warmth to keep me comfortable. I had to stand though, sitting in the stands you couldn't feel it as much. My son also told me the locker rooms were equipped with heaters, so at least for a little while, before warming up, the boys could get a little relief from the cold. Overall, I like the rink. It feels warm, nestled in the neighborhood and it offers regular public skating in addition to the games. It was a nice change from the standard barns we've been to in the Midwest. I highly recommend you take a visit!

I love everything about this place. Admission is affordable and they didn't even charge for my DIL…read moreto come in and watch. Skate rental is only $3 and the skates are the nicer plastic ones, not the old brown ones. There are plenty of blue plastic "walkers" for beginners to use. If you get cold there is a fireplace inside and plenty of hot cocoa from the concession stand.

This is the second kiddo hockey tournament I had placed here. It is an amazing rink with two sets…read moreof ice: the main rink, and a practice rink. Upstairs is the regular arena where the Irish play NCAA games. Downstairs is access to the practice area. Games are held on both but championship tourney games are traditionally held in the main. If you are looking for food and snacks, there is a snack shop near the bottom arena and also a place to rent skates and/or request regular skate maintenance...I.e. skate sharpening, blade falls off, etc. Parking is pay through an app during weekdays but was free on weekends. Not expensive though. I recommend eating at Rohr's which is connected to the Morris Inn if you have time. It's a much better option than other restaurants and extremely close. Easy walk on a nice day; if it is cold, park outside the bookstore and walk in. And, I mean, the campus bookstore, not the other one near all the random restaurants. Have fun! Beautiful campus!

What a great place to watch hockey. Not a bad seat in the house. Lots of different prices but all…read moreseemed good. We sat close to the rink and loved the energy. Ushers and staff were really helpful. Easy to enter and leave. Band was great and what a horn for goals. Lots of fun. Definite go to place.

This place is an absolute dive of an ice rink... not that that's bad in any way. We came here for a…read moretournament game and it happened to be while they were in the midst of construction. The rink we were on was chilly, plus it was freezing outside, but there were some overhead heaters that really helped keep in comfortable. The ice was not good here, even after the Zamboni cleaned it up. There were a lot of gashes and divots that caused some stumbling. We won the game, so the rink wasn't a factor, but I wish there was better parking and better eats. I'm sure this place will be up to par after construction, so don't take my rating as final.

Amazing rink with clean locker rooms and fantastic staff. Love the Zamboni drivers and ice is…read morealways cut to perfection.

Love this place! Second oldest roller rink in the country. Very cool spot. Definitely recommend…read morechecking this place out.

This is a great Family place. The "creepy" bunk beds, as another reviewer put it, are where the…read morefamily can rest during All-Night skates because after being there all day and then all night, some of them are bound to need to rest at some point. However they have not had any All-Night skates since COVID so they have not been used in a while. This place offers a small arcade and a snack bar for those who don't skate. This skating rink also has a family plan where if the parents stay with the kids, they get in for cheaper! Sounds like quite a deal to me! The owner and his family are very nice and have been trying the best they possibly can to make this a safe environment for kids and they really do a great job. this is a place to have the kids burn some energy off in every season. We will be returning.

I enjoy watching my children skate here. They enjoy the environment and entertainment that they…read morehave here. They even raffle out a free day to return which we have won once!

This is our first time there and we really enjoyed skating and eating. This place is so CLEAN and…read moreNEAT that's why we had so much fun there. The people's are so nice and friendly when you walk thru the door. Guess what , WE WILL BE BACK!!!!