How to Go Ice Skating at Millennium Park, Chicago

Winter is a magical time in Chicago. Wander the city in December and you’ll see a Christmas fair in the Daley Plaza, lights floating above Michigan Avenue and Disney characters on display in the windows of Macy’s on State. One of the best places to experience this winter magic is the ice skating rink at Millennium Park. Skate outdoors surrounded by the Chicago skyline on one side with the Cloud Gate and Frank Gehry-designed Pritzker Pavilion glistening on the other.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Choose a time to go. The ice rink is usually open from the middle of November until the middle of March. While any time would be great, there is nothing like Christmas time in Chicago.
2. Decide on who you want to take carefully. Make it a group event. Or, take one person and make it something special. Take a friend, a lover or a child. You can even go by yourself. Just remember, whoever you are with will help shape your experience.
3. Take public transportation to Millennium Park. Get off the red line at the Chicago stop. Walk down the Magnificent Mile, melting in with the Christmas–time crowds, to get to the park. Even if you’re not going to skate, stand under the Cloud Gate and watch the skaters below.
4. Rent skates and learn how to walk all over again as you make your way out to the ice. Laugh at yourself as you struggle.
5. Have no shame. Who cares if you fall? Who cares if you’re a skating god or if your friends have to hold you up? In fact, if you’re about to leave and haven’t fallen—-dive. The view is even better from the ground.
6. Take a moment. Relax. Listen to the music. Watch the children skating. Listen to the voices raised into the air. If you’re lucky, watch the snow falling. Appreciate winter in Chicago. Look around. Remember the moment.
7. Go get a hot chocolate. Or, wander through the rest of Millennium Park. Or, walk down to Lake Michigan. Or, head back over to Michigan Avenue. The world, in this case, Chicago, is your oyster. Take full advantage.

Tips & Warnings

• Dress warmly. Chicago gets very cold during the winter.
• Walk through Millennium Park. There is no place else in Chicago like it, especially around Christmas.
• Drink something warm after skating, whether at the park or anywhere else. Nothing is better after ice skating than hot chocolate.