Public & Leisure Skating

Depending on the weather conditions, rinks may be closed. After any heavy snowfall, the rinks will close due to clean up. The City operates more than 50 outdoor rinks in a typical season and crews work as quickly as they can to clean the ice and re-open the rink after a snowfall. Check the rink status to see if your rink is open.

Sometimes on warm days, the City has to close some rinks temporarily until the weather cools down. This is due to the size and type of a rink’s refrigeration system, its physical location (north/south or east/west facing) and how much it is used. All of this factors into the ability to keep ice hard and smooth when temperatures rise above 0 degrees Celsius. To check if a rink is open on a warm day, check the rink status or call 311.

Rinks are maintained by being flooded on a regular basis but schedules are adjusted daily to accommodate inclement weather, staffing issues, equipment breakdowns, permits/programs and heavy traffic conditions.

Public Skating is Free

The City runs 52 outdoor artificial ice rink locations, and weather permitting, many stay open until March.

General hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Hours vary at each location so check ahead.

The City’s indoor rinks offer a wide range of skating opportunities year round.

About 30 to 40 natural ice rinks in parkland are built by community volunteers each year. Availability and ice conditions can vary throughout the winter based on weather and volunteer maintenance. Use at your own risk. We encourage all skaters to wear a helmet for safety.

Monitoring ended on February 28. This concludes our 2018 season.

Grenadier Pond in High Park has been a recreational skating surface since the early days of Toronto. The flag at the pond will indicate whether the pond is either: not safe (red flag), or use at your own risk (yellow flag).

To check the flag status, visit Find an Outdoor Rink.

Since this is a not a skating program, no ice clearing or maintenance is done.

Tips for a successful day at Grenadier Pond:

• Check online before heading out – we inspect daily and post either a red or yellow flag at the pond.
• Dress warmly. It’s cold by the lakefront, especially when windy.
• There’s no clubhouse or place to stow your belongings, so don’t bring anything valuable you can’t carry on your person.
• If you’re intending to skate, bring proper safety equipment – helmets, and knee and elbow pads – there are no skate trainers available at the pond.
• Please take care of our fragile ecosystem by staying within the designated area and keeping dogs off the pond The remaining wetlands at the Grenadier pond are a locally significant lakefront marsh. Please stay within the allowed boundaries.

Fluctuating temperatures, currents, salt run-off and other factors can make ice conditions variable and hazards difficult to detect. For public (and pet) safety, skating and other recreation activities on frozen bodies of water in City parks are prohibited.

The only exception is Grenadier Pond in High Park, which undergoes ice monitoring for a 12-week period in the winter.

Helmet Policy and Required Equipment

Children under the age of six years must wear a CSA approved hockey helmet. Please see Skating Safety Equipment Requirements below for more details.

Instructional Skating

All participants in Caregiver & Tot, Preschool, Learn to Skate Levels 1-5, Learn to Skate Youth and Learn to Skate Adult programs must wear a CSA approved hockey helmet with all helmet straps. It is also mandatory for all Caregiver & Tot and Preschool participants to wear a full face mask.

Broken helmets, bike, utility helmets are not acceptable and will not be permitted on the ice. Mouth guards and neck guards are strongly recommended for all participants.

Hockey Programs – Children

CSA approved hockey helmets with full face mask and neck guards are mandatory for all preschoolers, children and youth who participate in hockey, power skate and supervised shinny programs. Mouth guards are strongly recommended.

Hockey Programs – Adults

CSA approved hockey helmets are mandatory for adult hockey, power skating and supervised shinny programs. One-half or full face mask, neck guards and mouth guards are strongly recommended.

Skates and Clothing

Proper fitting lace-up single blade skates are required. Bobskates, double bladed skates and speed skates will not be permitted on the ice. The recommendation for purchasing skates is one size smaller than shoe size. New skates do not come sharpened and will require sharpening prior to the first class. Shoes are not to be worn on the ice.

Wear warm comfortable clothing that is easy to move in (warm, water-resistant pants, non-bulky jackets and warm gloves). Shorts are not permitted on the ice.

Accessible Recreation – Sledges

New and improved sledges are now available in some facilities. These adapted skating devices make our arenas accessible for persons with a disability.

To make arrangements to use a sledge at a rink near you, contact your district adapted and integrated coordinator:

Etobicoke York District

• 416-394-8533
• TTY (for deaf callers with a TTY line) 416-394-8534

North York District

• 416-395-6183
• TTY (for deaf callers with a TTY line) 416-395-6115

Scarborough District

• 416-396-7760
• TTY (for deaf callers with a TTY line) 416-396-4116

Toronto and East York District

• 416-397-4690
• TTY (for deaf callers with a TTY line) 416-392-4773

Visit Accessible Recreation for more information.