Cass Park Rink & Pool

Absolutely a great park that we visited to watch some Roller Derby on Saturday night. The park itself is great, nice playground, soccer fields all over (there were some games going on), and other fields all around. Has an outdoor hockey rink that the roller derby was in, it was covered with a temporary roof. Great set up and was very cheap to get in and watch the action. You could easily move around, see from wherever you were. I am sure in the winter time it is full of kids and families skating and I bet it is a great place to watch a hockey game.

Zamboni driver didn’t show, ice was roughest my kids have ever skated on. I skated one lap, was in too much pain, came right back to desk, but they wouldn’t issue a refund — only a credit. I don’t live in the area, so credit was of no use to me. Besides, I think it’s cheap and lousy not to refund someone who goes out for 3 minutes and comes back unable to skate due to foot pain. (tried two pairs of skates, btw)

Cass Park has the only outdoor rink that I know of in the Ithaca area, and it’s open from October-​March.
It’s a pretty fun crowd that comes here. The skate guards are friendly, the skaters tend to be cute children and their parents, guys skating impressively on hockey skates, or some of the college crowd. It’s also nice that they will occasionally announce a chance for people to skate clockwise. Sometimes one end of the rink will be sectioned off for lessons. The ice is of a decent quality and when it is crowded they’ll resurface it every 90 minutes or so. They also have lockers to store your stuff and concessions.
All in all, it’s a pleasant place to go skating.
*However*, I would highly discourage anyone from coming here for any sort of maintenance for their skates. They are not professional, and it also doesn’t seem like they understand basic blade sharpening – at least, not for figure skates. The 2 people working there that I spoke with could not tell me what radius of hollow they used to sharpen their figure skates, and when I received my skates back, the blades had been sharpened but there were no edges (the blade still had it’s ‘factory’ shape)! At best, sharpening here is a waste of $ 7. At worst, they will ruin a set of blades. And by the way, no refunds! If you do decide to take a gamble for the thrill of it, don’t count on having your skates sharpened in one-​day, as they will promise you.

Great place to go skating. The pool is a fun place for kids in the summer. So many great childhood memories here.

An Ithaca landmark for hockey players and ice skaters. Outside rink which offers a great view of city skyline, it’s just a cool place to go to from late October to March. Yes, if you go often, you should get a season pass to save $ but it’s also a City-​run rink and for the budget, they do an awesome job running it!

Ok, so they’re using the same skates they had when I was a kid, 30 years ago. And their prices are a little step ($ 9 for an adult unless you sign up for a Rec Card — and if you’re an Ithaca resident, you should. It’s free.)
But everything else about Cass Park is so quaint and wonderful. The lockers still cost 25-​cents. The snack bar still sells Nerds and Fun Dip (and bags of mini carrots for the health-​conscious). The skate guards are all delightful teenage boys who are actually enthusiastic about helping people learn to skate.
A friend and I took her 3-​year-​old skating for the first time, and one of the guards helpfully gave us a construction cone for the little one to hang onto as we navigated the ice. It still took us 45 minutes to go ¼ of the way around the rink. But it was a memory I will cherish always.

Oh the memories I have of Cass Park. I learned to skate here and developed my love of ice skating through years of skate practice and help from the skate guards.
I have never seen skate guards at any other place that are so willing to help kids, young and old, figure out the mechanics of skating.
I miss living in Ithaca and making my weekly visit to the rink for some laps and hot chocolate. I also discovered the glorious candy-​nerds– from here. Strawberry is still my favorite.
The facilities are a bit quaint, and some of the skates are getting old, but if you want an unbeatable experience check it out. Plus, there aren’t many places were you get an outdoor rink the size of Cass Park anymore.