Skating in san francisco

thedreamskater · Sep 28, 2015

Haha hi everyone. Since I find this should be the most suitable place for the topic I am going to talk about so I post it here. If this is not the right place plz tell me to correct it since this is the first time I post a thread.
I am planning a trip to san francisco during the Christmas weeks and I will bring my skate with me so I can also have practice there too. But I am not so familiar with the rinks there. I am thinking oakland ice center and yerba buena skating center. So my first question is which rink is better, concerning about the price and the space . Also, since the rink(not in us) I used to skate dont have any freestyle sessions so can anyone tell me what I can and cant do in those freestyle sessions, and also the rules. If u hv anything to add pls also tell me I will really appreciate that! Thx for spending ur time for watching this!!!!!!!!

loopy · Sep 28, 2015

My daughter skated at yerba, it's a fun rink! It is right off the BART line and we went to Mel's for lunch. We also hit the museum there (more for kids than adults), the carousel and we ran out of time for bowling. So as a fun experience Yerba was great. She just did a public session.

AhhhFancccyyy · Sep 28, 2015

I'm from San Francisco! The Yerba Buena rink is great. It can actually get warm in the rink, so wear layers. I like SF better than Oakland. I think the YB rink is just all around better. The parking is less expensive too (use 5th and Mission garage).

You have to be freestyle level to skate the freestyle sessions. You also must have your own skates. If you're using rentals you can only skate on the public sessions. If you are able to skate the freestyle session, they have the rules and protocols up on the YB website. The public sessions during the week are great - very few people. The weekend sessions can get really crowded, however.

My other favorite rink is in Belmont, called the Belmont Iceland. It's about 25 minutes south of SF. It's a smaller rink, but parking in the lot is free and there's no one there in the morning (morning public sessions). I wouldn't go to Belmont for the afternoon public sessions, because those can get crowded with figure skaters. If you're going skating in the afternoon, go to SF. Also the Belmont rink can get cold!!! So wear a lot of layers there too.

vlaurend · Sep 28, 2015

It really depends on what level skater you are, and what you are looking for. Oakland has an Olympic sized ice surface (also an NHL size but I think most of the FS sessions are on the Olympic) and seems to be a more "competitive" figure skating rink. Yerba Buena has softer ice and a very pleasant atmosphere and is located right in downtown San Francisso. They also have a number of adult skaters there.

thedreamskater · Sep 30, 2015

loopy said:
My daughter skated at yerba, it's a fun rink! It is right off the BART line and we went to Mel's for lunch. We also hit the museum there (more for kids than adults), the carousel and we ran out of time for bowling. So as a fun experience Yerba was great. She just did a public session.

Wow seems like there will be lots of fun around there thx fro ur information!!!!

thedreamskater · Sep 30, 2015

AhhhFancccyyy said:
I'm from San Francisco! The Yerba Buena rink is great. It can actually get warm in the rink, so wear layers. I like SF better than Oakland. I think the YB rink is just all around better. The parking is less expensive too (use 5th and Mission garage).

You have to be freestyle level to skate the freestyle sessions. You also must have your own skates. If you're using rentals you can only skate on the public sessions. If you are able to skate the freestyle session, they have the rules and protocols up on the YB website. The public sessions during the week are great - very few people. The weekend sessions can get really crowded, however.

My other favorite rink is in Belmont, called the Belmont Iceland. It's about 25 minutes south of SF. It's a smaller rink, but parking in the lot is free and there's no one there in the morning (morning public sessions). I wouldn't go to Belmont for the afternoon public sessions, because those can get crowded with figure skaters. If you're going skating in the afternoon, go to SF. Also the Belmont rink can get cold!!! So wear a lot of layers there too.

It is because I am going to stay in my aunt's house on Alameda Island so Oakland ice center is on my list. I will have my own skates and i am currently learning freestyle 5 so i am qualified right? But i assume that those public sessions will be as crowded as those during weekends becuz it is holiday time right? So i prefer freestyle session then. Concerning about the Belmont Iceland, i think i wont go there becuz maybe too time demanding and i will rather choose rinks that near my place but thx for ur precious information!!

thedreamskater · Sep 30, 2015

vlaurend said:
It really depends on what level skater you are, and what you are looking for. Oakland has an Olympic sized ice surface (also an NHL size but I think most of the FS sessions are on the Olympic) and seems to be a more "competitive" figure skating rink. Yerba Buena has softer ice and a very pleasant atmosphere and is located right in downtown San Francisso. They also have a number of adult skaters there.

Back in my home rink, it is just 20x40m big and being cut into different sections so rly so limited space there but i get to hv lessons in the whole rink. However i dont think i need an olympic sized rink just a small one will do for me. However i prefer the rink that hv the least crowded session so i can try things in higher speed. But i rly appreciate ur help!

Skating in san francisco

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