WinterSkate is the Cutest. Date. Ever…read more Outdoor activities are one of those things that make Twin Cities winters slightly more bearable. Rice Park is another one of those things, with its pretty twinkling lights... and the majestic Landmark Center backdrop doesn't hurt either. Together, WinterSkate comes to life as an outdoor rink right in the middle of St. Paul. This year, it's open from Nov. 26 to Feb. 5. They have a warming house for changing your skates and staying cozy. The rink itself isn't huge, but I basically just need room to lurch around like a Frankenstein and then fall... so I'm good. Best part aside from the fact that you have an instant date-night? Skate rentals are only $2 and the rink itself is FREE. So what are you waiting for? Oh yeah, winter has to come first. Thanks, Wells Fargo, for making winter a little more fun!

The opening of the WinterSkate rink in Rice Park is a kickoff to the holiday season for many of us…read morein St Paul. It's a free city event where you have the opportunity to see local figure skaters cut loose on fresh ice. After that, you can wander across the street for live musical entertainment. You can get a first glimpse of the upcoming year's winter carnival button -- and watch the official lighting of the Holiday tree (and all the other trees) in Rice Park, accompanied by fireworks. A perfect holiday night. Rice park is the perfect strolling park when you're on a date at the Ordway, Riverwalk Center, Xcel Center, or anywhere else in downtown St Paul. The skating rink also makes it a great stand-alone family destination in the winter from November (when the rink opens) to the new year when Rice Park hosts the annual Ice Castle.

Great place to watch anything on ice. My nephew had his most recent ice hockey tourney here. If…read morethere is a tourney going on, the parking lot will be FULL but not full enough to not find spots. They have a nice and simple concession stand where I bought over the weekend - cokes, candy and a French cappuccino. The cokes were definitely over priced but other items weren't at $1.50 for the cappuccino and candy each. We watched both games in the north rink. Not a huge amount of seating but wasn't as cold as other rinks and they have a heater up top which made me super toasty on Friday afternoon after bundling up.

It's a great place to play Hockey, they are proudly to have 2 High School teams play at 1 arena…read more Mahtomedi Zephyrs, and Stillwater Ponies. I had a tournament there and it was excellent, even though the locker rooms were kinda small. But it is a nice ice arena to play hockey.

Great ice, organized. Fun for a pickup game in the center and casual lap skating around the…read moreperimeter.

We were looking for a place to walk indoors as DH is recovering from surgery and is supposed to…read moreavoid walking on ice. The Oval has a nice walking track around the rink up above the bleachers, and there weren't a ton of people on the track when we were there on a Monday afternoon. Best thing is there are benches all along the track, so if you get tired, you can always sit down anytime. Only drawback is the noise- it is extremely loud when hockey practice is happening, so definitely bring earplugs! Hours vary, so here is a link to the calendar: https://www.cityofroseville.com/DocumentCenter/View/29030/12-December-Walking?bidId=

Aldrich Arena is a classic. One of the must visit -- for a rivalry game, during a full house --…read morehockey arenas in the state. For example, if it's White Bear vs Hill Murray, that would be a packed, energetic crowd to see, hear and join. I suppose any arena where locals young and old gather to cheer and jeer can be raucous, but some arenas have the "it" factor. Aldrich has the it factor. Maybe it is the impressive exterior, or how the outside reminds me of walking up to the old Met Center where the North Stars once played. Aldrich stands just off White Bear Avenue and in the middle of a huge parking lot like a king on a throne. Inside is a large arena with 3,000 plus seating in the stands and ample standing room space. There are great ice views all around. And yes, an organ. The place feels like history. The conference titles won, the dreams realized, the section finals and the energy of former players watching their younger selves skate before thousands all in an attempt to win a ticket to the state tournament. I'm told Aldrich also hosts graduation ceremonies, conventions and other off ice events. There is a golf course right behind the arena that is a lot of fun too.

Ample parking, bleachers on one side. Heaters are effective, one of the warmer arenas…read more Handicapped viewing is limited.

Came here for a roller derby tournament in July. It's usually an ice rink during the winter time…read moreand they de-iced it during the summer. There are two rinks, and the other one still had ice in it. There's an upstairs area where you can watch either rink from above. This was convenient as the that area was air-conditioned and the arena was super hot (it was the middle of July). The arena itself was very big, with lots of bleachers seats on one side of the rink. Makes me wonder what level of hockey teams play hear and how many people they bring.

Good ice good service nice concession. What better place to play hockey than in one of Minnesota's…read moreoldest rinks

We joined TCO Sports Garden for TOT Time held on Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM, and…read morethis review is specifically for that experience. As a SAHM of a busy toddler, we are always looking for fun free activities to incorporate into our homeschool routine. I found this TOT Time on a great website; familyfuntwincities.com and I am glad that I did. Only 15 minutes from our home, we arrived around 10:15 AM and headed to the Fieldhouse where Tot Time was held- which is just around the corner from the entrance down a short flight of stairs. (There's an elevator available as well) We walked into the busiest, fullest Tot Time I've ever witnessed! There was at least 75+ people there, enjoying the bouncy houses, balls, cars, and various balls available around the turf. This place is slightly cooler, but nothing a light sweater or long sleeve shirt can't handle. We immediately dropped our gear along the perimeter of the field, and began to enjoy play. My son stayed in the bouncy house the entire time- though kids ran in and out, enjoying other activities this space had to offer. I was the only woman of color, though eventually there were three other males of color who joined. Initially, I was slightly uncomfortable- and a few kids came up to me and stared as if I was the first brown person they'd ever seen. That's another subject for another day. But if that kind of thing deters you from enjoying the experience, I'd say bring your own friends. The bouncy house was a rough place. Boys wrestling, kids bumping heads, falling, etc but the fun never stopped. From what I witnessed, the kids were free to run and roam without parental supervision. There were cases of kids wrestling until one was hurt in the bouncy house, and I was too afraid to say so Something. Though some parents stayed close to their kids and monitored what was going on (which is my style of parenting). We had a young girl push my son, hitting him upside the head and her mom held her accountable and made her apologize. I appreciate that! (Not that I was counting on it) It was a good experience and I look forward to joining them again.

This arena currently has two sheets of ice. There was an attached bubble for soccer and other turf…read moreactivities and this is currently down and not in use. On the plus side here: large heated common area with access to both indoor rinks. One rink has small stands and one rink is larger and hosts the WBL high school teams. Parking here is good, with two parking lots for the two entrances on the east and west side of the building. Also a plus is the attached onsite sporting good store. Further a plus is the attached restaurant and bar, all connected so once inside you are good to go. This arena has a long history of controversy with city ownership, then county ownership, and the private hockey academy and on an on, so you can google that history and make your own decision. This is a nice place, with good ice and potential for additional growth if the former bubble section is turned into something useful like turf, ice, or some other use.

Tips: - Rink access is on level 7 (top deck) of the parking…read moreramp. It's best to park at a higher level. - There are two parking ramps: - From 6th Street (21 East 6th Street) - entrance B - From Wabasha Street - entrance C - The parking ramp clearance is 6'3". My rental SUV had a few inches to spare. - If you are watching the Minnesota Wild practise, you need to sign a waiver. A few years ago, in September, I was invited to a Minnesota Wild practice session in the afternoon on a Saturday. Sadly, my Air Canada flight was delayed by three hours, which meant that I would miss it. Ugh! It took three years to finally get a similar invitation. Going to a Wild practice session tends to be for Wild season ticket holders and it's free. I said yes over a month ago. I flew into the Twin Cities on a Wednesday. The following morning, I attended the practice session at TRIA Rink. This rink is on the fifth floor of Treasure Island Center. It's not far away from where the Wild play their games at Grand Casino Arena. While flying into MSP, I got an e-mail from Wild customer service on event details, where to park, where to go, and more. It also said to print out a waiver form and fill it out. It's the only negative detail about this event. I realize that some details may change, which may be why this message was sent less than 24 hours before the event. However, had I got these details two days in advance, I would have been able to print out this waiver form. I'm at neither home, nor work. I don't have a travel printer. Luckily, I ended up printing a form at the hotel where I was staying. Still, I shouldn't have to scramble to find a printer. What the message didn't say is that if you don't have your waiver filled out, you can fill it out at the check-in table. Why not say that?! I had no problem driving over to this rink in downtown Saint Paul. I turned right from Wabasha Street, into entrance C of the parking lot (ramp). I took a ticket and proceeded up a bunch of levels. I parked on level 6. The entrance to the rink is level 7 (top floor) of the ramp. I pulled into a spot, walked a bit, and entered through the door. I walked down a few steps and saw the check-in area. A cheerful friendly man welcomed me. I handed my form in. He thanked me and said to head up the stairs for breakfast. Nice! The check-in area was across from the skate rental place. I walked up the stairs to the top floor of the rink. Continental breakfast was available, thanks to Levy Restaurants. There was oatmeal with fruit, pastries, muffins, and hot beverages. I had breakfast at the hotel at 7:30 am. It was now 10:30 am. I was able to down two fruit danish pastries and a cakey donut. They were all yummy, but the cakey donut wowed me the most. It was so good. What I like about TRIA Rink is that there are shorter bench seats for one to two people to sit down. I did just that, as it was me and my continental breakfast. Oh, I got hot chocolate. It was delicious. I loved every sip. It went well with my donut. Seeing the Wild practice was such a delight. Boldy came on the ice without any skates on. He was practising shooting pucks on net. Johansson joined him and they chatted off to the side for a bit. I loved seeing the Wild do drills and the camaraderie between players. Kaprizov. Zuccarello. Huges. McCarron. Nick Foligno (his brother, Marcus, was injured and wasn't there). Gustavsson. Wallstedt. Ericsson Ek. Fleury. I was so happy! Mats Zuccarello is one of my favourite Wild players. It was great seeing him practise right in front of me. The practice lasted an hour. We then headed to the Saint Paul Event Center on the third floor. Wild CEO Matt Majka was there to speak about his time with the Wild. The elevators were huge and efficient. Staff were great directing us to the event centre, which was huge and inviting. I frankly didn't care much for this part of the event. He had stories to tell, but he couldn't remember the exact details by admitting this fact, which was a downer. He wasn't a smooth talker, either. I guess it's also because I'm Canadian. The part about the US hockey teams winning gold at the Olympics went on for what felt like forever. I would have rather been back at the rink to stuff myself with more pastries and get a hot chocolate refill. Yum! Afterwards, I needed to use the washroom. There was one to the left. The women's washroom was impeccably clean and bright. Wow! I headed back to the fifth floor, to get back to the parking ramp. It was nice seeing a quiet rink before leaving it. One male season ticket holder commented that I had the right sneakers on today. I looked down. I was wearing Vans with Minnesota Wild green on parts of them. I thanked him and reciprocated. You scan the QR code on your ticket to pay for parking. You then scan your ticket to leave the ramp. I had a memorable experience. I'd do it again! (129)

We saw the MN Whitecaps play the Buffalo Beauts at a Sunday 12pm game and overall the experience…read morewas fun and positive. Despite being a professional game the atmosphere feels more like attending a casual college game. Which I appreciate. We paid $7 for parking ahead of time but if you stay even a minute after the end time on the parking ticket, they charge you $11 which is the current rate for 1-3 hours in the parking garage. Still not bad overall for attending a downtown event. Parking couldn't be easier to get in and out of, and was plentiful. Tria has clean bathrooms. The vending machines were all down and no concession stands (because then they'd have to check vaccination status and that was not done to attend the game). We were able to bring in our own water bottles. It's a no-frills casual arena in the heart of downtown St Paul. We had a great time. Bring stadium seat cushions if you have them-- the bleachers have no padding.

Lovely place to watch any type of ice skating competition or hockey game. Attended the ice skating…read moreholiday competition this past weekend and I was impressed at how warm it was inside in general and how warm the bleachers are. Huge kudos from this gal that doesn't take the cold for long periods of time. Lots of parking options.

Unique single sheet of ice with a zillion bears. White bears everywhere you look…read more Stands on one side. Plenty of locker rooms. It's a clean rink. Well maintained. The arena has wooden deck overlooking one end of the ice inside, so that's cool and unusual. There is a large hockey training center attached for youth hockey. And youth hockey is a big deal in WBL. Don't miss the photos of Division 1 hockey players who played for the Bears in this arena. Go Bears!