Where to Ice Skate in Adelaide [2024]

Winter is about embracing the cold and taking on the adventures that the snow and ice offer. And when it comes to adventures on the ice, there is one escapade that you should definitely not miss—ice skating in Adelaide!

In this article, you will learn what the best ice skating rinks and ice skating events Adelaide has to offer. Grab your bags and get ready to travel this winter.

The Best Ice Skating Rinks in Adelaide

Ice ArenA: Why You Should Go There

You should go to Ice ArenA because as the largest ice rink in Adelaide, it is open all year long and offers a multitude of ice skating activities such as the following:

a two-hour session called Snow Play that allows children (0–12 years old) to experience the magic of playing with snow in a safe and controlled environment,
recreational ice skating that follows a public skating schedule,
figure skating competitions,
ice skating and ice hockey lessons that cater to all ages,
and fully customizable special events such as parties and birthday celebrations on ice.

Ice ArenA is wonderful for people who want to experience ice skating at its finest.

Ice ArenA caters to beginners and experts alike. It has various programs which will assist you no matter what your skill level is.

Skating Lessons for Beginners

As stated before, Ice ArenA offers ice skating lessons for beginners. They have well-mannered and well-trained attendants.

By joining their ice skating programs, you will learn the fundamentals needed to skate on ice. With enough dedication and practice, you might become the next Steven John Bradbury!

Aside from the ice skating knowledge that you will learn there, you will gain more friends! Ice skating is more fun and enjoyable if you have friends to share the ice rink with.

Figure Skating Competitions for Experienced Skaters

Now, are you an expert ice skater who can expertly glide on ice? If your answer is a resounding yes, the Ice ArenA’s figure skating competition might suit you best!

You can compete with other figure skaters on Ice ArenA’s competitive grounds.

Parties on Ice

Ice ArenA’s organized parties on ice will also knock out the cold in you! If you are looking for a fun party that can turn up the heat of winter, you can throw one in Ice ArenA.

You can bring your family and friends to Ice ArenA to celebrate. You can do birthday parties and other celebratory events on the ice rink.

The ice skating parties that Ice ArenA throws are unique and fun. The staff there will listen attentively to your suggestions.

Imagination is the limit when it comes to partying in Ice ArenA.

The type of party that they will organize there will depend on your own ideas. Feel free to experiment with your party supplies and plans.

So, if you are looking for a brand new partying experience, why not celebrate one on an ice rink? A party on ice is truly one event that you will never forget!

Ice ArenA’s Open Hours

Ice ArenA is open 7 days a week and the ice rink follows a public skating schedule structured following regular school terms and school holidays.

During school terms, Ice ArenA opens its skating grounds based on this timetable:

Weekday Sessions: 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Wednesdays: 8 pm – 11:00 pm
Fridays and Saturdays: 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm
Saturday and Sunday Afternoon Sessions: 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Public Holidays: 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm (unless otherwise stated)

During school holidays, Ice ArenA follows the schedule below:

For Weekday Sessions: 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Wednesdays: 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Fridays and Saturdays: 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm
Saturday and Sunday Afternoon Sessions: 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Public Holidays: 12:30 – 3:30 pm (unless otherwise stated)

Ice ArenA’s Ticket Prices

Presently, here are the different ice skating prices offered by Ice ArenA:

Adult Prices	$25.50 (Entry but without skate hire)	$29.50 (Entry with skate hire)
Student and Concession Prices	$22.50 (Entry but without skate hire)	$26.50 (Entry with skate hire)
Child Prices	$19 (Entry but without skate hire)	$23 (Entry with skate hire)
Children of Ages 3 or Under	Free
Family Prices (2 adults and 2 children or 1 adult and 3 children)	$89.50 (Entry but without skate hire and an additional $21 per extra child)	$73.50 (Entry with skate hire and an additional $17 per extra child)
Groups of 10+	$20.50 per person (Includes skate hire and offers discounts if the booking is completed in a single payment)

Where to Find Ice ArenA

You can find Ice Arena at 23 James Congdon Dr, Thebarton, SA 503.

Base Camp and Why You Should Go There

Going to Base Camp is worth your time because ice skating on their ice rink is fun, especially during the winter festival of Illuminate Adelaide.

During Illuminate Adelaide, Base Camp bustles with colorful Christmas lights. You will also hear high-spirited music while ice skating in Base Camp’s ice rink.

Base Camp’s ice rink also has accommodating attendants and skates you can hire on-site. There are also live DJs that will turn up the party heat while you are on ice.

Base Camp’s Ice Rink

The main attraction of Base Camp’s ice rink is the cultural experience. It also offers visual and sonic magnum opuses you will witness and hear while skating.

Base Camp is also the best place to go if you are searching for a party on ice with DJs, dancing laser shows, and projections.

Additionally, the ice rink in Base Camp is more vibrant. It has an advanced lighting system with fun colors.

It’s modernized—one can even say futuristic—disco with an icy twist!

The ice rink is not the only centerpiece of Base Camp.

There are other attractions of Illuminate Adelaide too that are present in Base Camp. They will amuse you with revolutionary light shows and with captivating avant-garde music.

The other tourist spots in Base Camp will make you learn a lot of things about Adelaide too. There, you will learn about the history, traditions, and customs of the sparkling city.

Base Camp’s Other Events

If you are ice skating with kids, they will feel delighted by the animal light shows of Base Camp. In Base Camp, animals and the wildlife of Adelaide make the facility brighter and more fun!

Kids can even get to see an enormous and friendly tiger made of colorful lasers and light come to life.

The good news is that they have nothing to fear. The giant tiger is only there to amuse them and make friends!

There are also other light structures, from massive to tiny ones, at every step of the way.

You will also be able to interact with light activations. The light activations in Base Camp have animations that will transport you to a whole new world!

So, do you want to experience the culture and history of Adelaide while having fun on the ice? Do you want to see all these in the form of cutting-edge live shows?

If your answer is yes, book a trip to Base Camp during Illuminate Adelaide where the party doesn’t end on the ice rink!

Base Camp’s Open Hours

Base Camp ice skating rink opens up on July 1^st up to July 31^st and will follow the exact schedule below:

Regular School Day Schedule

No sessions on Monday and Tuesday
Wednesday – Thursday: 4:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Friday: 4:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Saturday: 10:30 am – 8:30 pm
Sunday: 10:30 am -7:30 pm

School Holiday Schedule

Monday – Thursday: 10:30 am – 7:30 pm
Friday – Saturday: 10:30 am – 8:30 pm
Sunday: 10:30 am – 7:30 pm

Base Camp’s Ticket Prices

Adult Prices	$35 (Peak Hours)	$28 (Non-peak Hours)
Concession Prices (for customers who are between 5-17 years old)	$25 (Peak Hours)	$20 (Non-peak Hours)
Family Prices (4 customers with a minimum of 2 children)	$100 (Peak Hours)	$80 (Non-peak Hours)

Where to Find Base Camp

Base Camp is situated in Victoria Square, Adelaide, SA.

Santa’s Wonderland and Why You Should Go There

You should go to Santa’s Wonderland because it is truly a majestic winter wonderland for kids and kids at heart.

It showcases the Ice Wonderland, a 25-meter ice rink with a toboggan slide. It also has other fun zones like the Traditional Family Christmas and Candyland!

Ice Wonderland

Santa’s Wonderland’s ice rink is appropriately named Ice Wonderland.

The Ice Wonderland has life-sized replicas of arctic animals. Children can interact and play with them while skating.

What’s more fun than ice skating, you say? Of course, ice skating with cuddly penguins and cute arctic foxes!

The toboggan slide is also there for thrill-seeking adventurers. If you want to enjoy the coldness of the ice by zipping down a slope, you can try it!

It’s like ice sledding but made better!

Traditional Family Christmas

If you ever get tired of playing in the Ice Wonderland, you can try the Traditional Family Christmas zone.

This zone encapsulates the essence of the holidays!

The Traditional Christmas zone is also the perfect spot to relax in Santa’s Wonderland. The activities here are not too physically demanding, unlike the other zones.

What the Traditional Family Christmas zone greatly offers are bonding time and respite. While being there, you will surely enhance the bond you have with your kids or family.

In the Traditional Christmas zone, kids, with the help of their parents, may exercise their writing skills. They can post letters addressed to Santa Claus while in this area.

The Traditional Family Christmas zone is a story-telling haven too. While resting, kids can listen to wondrous Christmas tales narrated by Mrs. Christmas.

The significance of familial bonding makes the Traditional Family Christmas zone unforgettable.

Candyland

The last zone in Santa’s Wonderland is Candyland.

Candyland is a candy-themed playground with a set of jumping castles. They can play in these jumping castles together with other children.

In Candyland, kids and their parents can personalize their own Christmas baubles too.

While playing, kids in Candyland can also interact with Christmas characters. They can even have fun interactions with Santa Claus himself!

Candyland is also a magnificent place for social interaction. Your kids can do exciting challenges with other children.

They can cooperate in collecting reindeer snacks from magical stables. They can also work together with the elves of Santa Claus!

The best attraction by far in Candyland is the massive red sleigh! On this sleigh, kids can take photos together with their friends, parents, and with Santa Claus!

So, if your idea of a perfect Christmas vacation consists of fun ice skating, thrilling Christmas games, holiday relaxation, and familial bonding, prepare your trip now to Santa’s Wonderland and wrap up a Christmas experience that will surely break the ice!

Santa’s Wonderland’s Open Hours

Santa’s Wonderland opens up starting the 2^nd of December up to the 24^th of December and will follow the schedule below:

Morning Sessions: Sunday – Saturday: 10:00 am -1:00 pm

Afternoon Sessions: Sunday – Saturday: 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Where to Find Santa’s Wonderland

Santa’s Wonderland is held on Adelaide’s Showground which can be found on Goodwood Rd, Wayville, SA 5034

What are the most fun ice skating events in Adelaide?

Illuminate Adelaide

The residents of Adelaide celebrate Illuminate Adelaide in July. It’s a winter festival that pays homage to the Traditional Custodians of Adelaide.

The city of Adelaide celebrates this winter event by holding different events. One of these events is an ice skating one that is special and fun.

During Illuminate Adelaide, you can skate in Base Camp’s ice rink in Victoria Square. Ice skating there is different because it involves presentations of art, light, sound, and imagination.

You can also enjoy breathtaking light and laser shows in Base Camp. The facility’s ice rink also pumps vigorous music coming from live DJs.

Illuminate Adelaide is a treat for the eyes, ears, body, and spirit.

The winter event is a culmination of technological advancements. It’s a special celebration of culture that will awaken your childlike wonder and joy.

Where is Illuminate Adelaide Held?

Illuminate Adelaide is an annual winter festival of art, light, sound, and imagination that is held at 12 King William Rd, Unley, SA 5061.

Illuminate Adelaide’s ice skating rink can be found in Base Camp, which is situated in Victoria Square, Adelaide, SA.

Is Illuminate Adelaide free?

The winter festival of Illuminate Adelaide offers travelers and locals the experience of witnessing a city-wide presentation of awe-inspiring artistic installations, luminous artworks, and grandiose activations for free.

Illuminate Adelaide’s ice rink in Base Camp, however, offers different prices for children, adults, and groups.

Adults who want to ice skate in Base Camp will be charged $35 during peak hours and $28 during non-peak hours.

For children (ages 5-17 years old) who want to experience Illuminate Adelaide’s ice rink, Base Camp charges $25 during peak hours and $20 during non-peak hours.

If you want to ice skate together with your family (four customers with a minimum of two children), you will be charged $100 during peak hours and $80 during non-peak hours.

What are the other winter attractions in Illuminate Adelaide?

Aside from the ice skating rink, Illuminate Adelaide also has various hit programs such as Light Cycles, Ouchhh Studio’s Wisdom of AI Light, Electric Playground, and Light Creatures.

What are Light Cycles?

Illuminate Adelaide’s Light Cycles is an innovative light and musical show. The show transforms the Adelaide Botanic Garden into a world of grand luminosity.

Light Cycles combines the splendor of nature with cutting-edge lasers, lights, and projections. The light shows have a soul-stirring and transcendental original soundtrack.

If you are a sci-fi fan and a nature lover, this place will propel you up to cloud nine.

Nature is already beautiful on its own. But, once you pair it with the glitz and splendor of technology, what you will get is a majestic creation that is worth traveling to.

What is Ouchhh Studio’s Wisdom of AI Light?

Ouchhh Studio’s Wisdom of AI Light is a collaboration of Istanbul-based visionaries Ouchhh Studio, NASA, and CERN.

Wisdom of AI Light promises spectacular visuals accompanied by the masterpieces of the iconic and legendary classical composer, Ludovico Einaudi.

Wisdom of AI Light is basically an advanced light show that uses the power of classical music.

It’s a peek into the future of light shows and musical performances. It’s worth noting that it doesn’t fail in the pursuit of combining technology with music.

Oftentimes, musical light shows tend to fail in finding the balance between creating a futuristic yet soulful program. This is not the case in Wisdom of AI Light.

Yes, the show is futuristic, but it doesn’t overpower the core of human emotions influenced by music.

The masterpieces of Ludovico Einaudi complement the movements of the lasers. The lasers also amplify the compositions’ overall effect on the listeners.

What is Illuminate Adelaide’s Electric Playground?

Electric playground is one of the highlights of Illuminate Adelaide. Its usage of immersive music that is inspired by the cosmic rhythm of the universe attracts a lot of people.

The music in this party zone was made by the groundbreaking ORBIT. ORBIT is an innovative sound design made livelier by state-of-the-art lighting effects.

This Illuminate Adelaide attraction will take you on a trip into outer space! Electric Playground combines light shows and parties with the sounds of outer space.

You might feel bewildered in Electric Playground. The music of the great universe might sound new to your ear.

Others might feel peace while being inside of this place. Most of those who go here describe the music in Electric Playground as weirdly relaxing.

All in all, Electric Playground is bizarre (in a positive way)! It’s an out-of-this-world attraction you have to experience once in your lifetime.

What is Illuminate Adelaide’s Light Creatures?

Illuminate Adelaide’s Light Creatures is a nighttime adventure for the whole family.

It features larger-than-life light animals that glow with the art of renowned artists A Blanck Canvas, Elizabeth Close, Jack Buckskin, Slingsby, and Vans the Omega.

Light Creatures transforms Adelaide into a kingdom of brightly colored animals! Kids may interact and play with these light animals.

There is also eye-catching animation art in this area.

To put it simply, this spot is heaven for those who love taking pictures. You will never run out of memories to capture in this zoo of light (everything here is cute and bright)!

The unmentioned feature of Illuminate Adelaide’s Light Creatures is how relaxing it is. There is something so childlike about glowing animals that shine amid dark and cold winter nights.

Safety Ice Skating Tips for Beginners

Get skates that fit you perfectly

Make sure that your skates are perfect for your feet. If they are not, you will be uncomfortable on the ice rink.

You can try out the different sizes of ice skates available in the ice rink to be sure which ones fit you perfectly.

Wear thick clothing

When you are ice skating, you will get cold. It will be beneficial for you if you will wear layers of thick clothing such as beanies, hats, hooded jackets, scarves, a pair of tights or jeans, and fleecy pants.

Make sure your thick clothing can be removed easily

When ice skating, make sure that your thick clothing can easily be removed in case they make you feel too warm or uncomfortable. Feeling too warm is something that usually occurs after skating for a period of time.

Bring hand warmers

Hand warmers such as HotHands are great for warming your hands when ice skating. You can get hand warmers at department stores.

Wear thick socks

Ice skates generate friction on your feet, so it’s highly advised that you wear thick and long socks to prevent the build-up of painful blisters. You can further ensure the prevention of blisters while skating by wearing two pairs of thick and long socks.

Things to Do in Case You Get Blisters

If you happen to get blisters while ice skating, never remove the loose skin. Apply a band-aid, liquid bandage, or a regular bandage and tape it on the blistered area of your feet so it will not be further damaged.

Applying corn pads on your blisters with a hole in the middle to provide cushion is also recommended.

Don’t skate without supervision

If you are a beginner or skating with a child or children, make sure that there are enough adults in the ice rink that can provide assistance and lessons.

Protect your fingers

Beginners, especially kids, will definitely fall on the ice while ice skating.

Protect your fingers when ice skating by tucking them into a fist so that if you lose balance and fall, you will not be at risk of getting injured especially if there is another skater nearby.

Practice falling on ice

Speaking of falling while ice skating, it’s recommended to get used to falling on the ice rink so that you will be able to learn how to recover and get up quickly.

Bring extra clothing

Falling on the ice rink will cause your clothing to be wet so you have to make sure that you have extra clothing just in case your attire gets too cold.

Always ask for assistance and don’t rush

Ask for assistance on how to move forward while ice skating, as it’s the first and usually the hardest step in learning how to glide on the ice rink.

Always start slow and practice balancing your individual foot, and once you master this feat, proceed by pushing each foot to move forward.

Learn how to stop and glide

When ice skating, it’s extremely important that you will learn how to stop and glide.

If you want to stop, skate slowly before doing a pigeon-toed position and using the flat edge of the skates to completely stop.

If you want to glide to a full stop, make sure that your feet are parallel on the ice and simply drift until you halt.

Stretch before and after ice skating

Always remember to stretch before and after ice skating.

You engage a lot of muscles in the ice rink so make sure to stretch before and after your skating session to avoid muscle and joint soreness.

FAQs about ice skating in Adelaide

Is there ice skating in Adelaide?

Adelaide has multiple ice rinks, including the Ice ArenA, Adelaide’s largest ice surface that is open all year long, and seasonal ones including the ice rinks of Base Camp, which is open in July, and Adelaide Showground, which is open in December.

Is there ice skating in Glenelg?

Winter Wonderland’s ice skating rink will make its awaited comeback in Mosely Square at Glenelg this upcoming July.
Regular sessions will be open from Sunday to Thursday, from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm, and from Friday to Saturday, from 10:00 am to 9:30 pm.
A one-hour skating session time will also be available on the following hours: 10:00 am, 11.30 am, 1:00 pm, 2:30 pm, 4:00 pm, 5.30 pm, 7:00 pm, and 8.30 pm.
In addition to these, the Retro Skate event will also be held on Friday and Saturday nights at 7:00 pm and 8:30 pm.

How much is ice skating in AS?

The tickets for ice skating in the multiple ice rinks of AS will cost around $25–$30 for adults, $20–25 for students and children, and $80–100 for groups and families.

What is the best age for ice skating?

According to Kitchener-Waterloo Skating Club’s professional skating coach, Karen De Vito, the best age to start ice skating is around 3-5 years old.

Can you wear leggings to go ice skating?

Wearing sweatpants or leggings while ice skating is strongly advised, as by doing so, your legs will be completely covered while the stretchable attribute of sweatpants and leggings will not limit the range of movements you can perform.