Ice skating is a whimsical activity often associated with the holiday season and winter spirit. That said, after its peak in the 1990s, ice skating viewership and popularity in the U.S. has declined. Despite this, there is a thriving ice skating community here in Portland.
There are plenty of opportunities to ice skate in Portland, particularly during the winter. Around the December holidays, the Portland Winter Ice Rink pops up outdoors in downtown Portland by the Morrison Bridgehead. It won’t open up this year, but is set to reopen in 2026. There are also permanent ice skating rinks in neighboring areas, such as the Mountain View Ice Arena in Vancouver, the Winterhawks Skating Center in Beaverton, and the Sherwood Ice Arena in Sherwood. However, the most popular — and only — ice skating rink in Portland is the Lloyd Center Ice Rink.
The Lloyd Center Ice Rink opened in 1960, and it remains a place for people in Portland to explore the unique sport of ice skating. Nyla Hough, a Skate Guard at the Lloyd Center Ice Rink, described the rink as a great community space with patrons from ages 4 to 104. According to Hough, people come to Lloyd Center Ice Rink for a variety of reasons: “people that come to try it for the first time, either late in life or as a young kid … [as well as] people who come back to it after doing it as a kid, and becoming re-interested in their adulthood.” Personally, I have many fond memories of learning to ice skate at the Lloyd Center Ice Rink as a child, and looking up at the big tree in the middle of the rink when it hit December. While Lloyd Center Mall as a whole suffered greatly during the 2010s mall recession, and later the COVID-19 pandemic, Lloyd Center Ice Rink has managed to remain a thriving staple of the Portland community.
When getting into ice skating, there are many different classes to help improve your skating skills. The Lloyd Center Ice Rink offers classes for all ice skating enthusiasts, from children as young as 3, to adults of varying skill levels. Classes at Lloyd Center also get you a Learn to Skate (LTS) USA membership, which gives skaters access to a variety of skating instructional programs in their area, as well as secondary sports accident insurance and more. For more advanced skaters hoping to get into performing and competing, classes can be found through ice skating organizations. The oldest and most notable of these in Portland is the Portland Ice Skating Club (PISC).
PISC is Oregon’s first and oldest ice skating club, still proudly displaying the motto that “skating is for everyone.” PISC offers many benefits for skaters, including scholarships, monetary rewards for qualifying at sectionals or nationals, and a US Figure Skating membership. Stephanie Fields, the President of PISC, emphasizes that above all, “Community is at the heart of everything we do at Portland Ice Skating Club.” While PISC offers high-level competition opportunities, Fields also stated that “PISC strives to support every skater at every level, not just the few who compete at a national level. … We love all our members from ages 5 [to] 99.”
One concern expressed by Fields about the accessibility of ice skating is the cost. She says, “Figure skating is a very expensive sport; most families will easily spend over $1,000 a month just on training. That does not include the price of testing, the skates themselves — at the higher levels, boots and blades are purchased separately, costing anywhere from $1000-$2000 collectively — the costumes, competitions, travel expenses not just for your skater but for their coach as well.” Similar concerns were expressed by Flora Benerofe, a Franklin student with a background in ice skating. That said, organizations like PISC are doing what they can to increase the accessibility of ice skating; they offer scholarships and financial aid awards specifically for people from lower-income homes or those who are new to competing; they are always looking for opportunities to help lower costs for members.
Ice skating is a sport that can bring a lot of joy at any skill level. Members of the Franklin community are fortunate to have access to so many local ice skating opportunities and programs, and I highly encourage every reader to go out and try ice skating, even just once. As Benerofe said, “Don’t be afraid to fall, that is mostly what skating is. Falling and getting back up again.” Most of all, remember to have fun!
