Hey, Chicago skaters---I have a friend from Australia coming to visit at the end of September, and she mentioned that she'd love for me to take her skating while she's here (just over a long weekend). Problem is, I no longer live in the area, and I don't remember where the closest rinks are.

Bigger problem? Do any of them have public ice with skate rental, especially weekend ice? The couple of rinks I looked up (such as the one in Oak Park) don't seem to have ice at all in late September.

I'm not 100% sure where we'll be coming from, but we usually hang out in the Streeterville-to-Loop-ish areas, and we might spend some time in/near Oak Park as well. Anything even remotely 'close' to any of those areas would be good. Basically, I don't want to have to hike out to the far western 'burbs to the rinks I'm familiar with.

The only rinks in the city open in the fall are Johnny's Ice House, which is almost exclusively hockey, and the McFetridge Sports Center (on California between Irving Park and Addison). McFetridge reopens September 10th after their August ice maintenance, and they are part of the Chicago Park District. They have a daily adult skate Mon thru Fri from 12:00 to 2:00 for rediculously cheap ($3??). That's your best bet.

Have fun!

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I would also check Evanston (Robert Crown Center), Skokie (Skatium), and Niles as these are all adjacent suburbs. RCC is about 5 blocks from the Main St El stop in Evanston.