Skating around Orange County: Find an outdoor ice rink this holiday season

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Visitors to the Paséa Hotel & Spa ice skate in Huntington Beach, CA, on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

There’s still time to lace up your skates and practice your figure eights at one of several outdoor ice rinks around Orange County this holiday season.

From hours of operation to how much you can expect to spend on rentals, here’s a glance at where you can find the outdoor seasonal fun this year.

  • Children skate on the ice rink in the Giant Wheel court at the Skating Under the Stars at the Irvine Spectrum Center in Irvine in 2022. The ice skating rink is open through Jan. 8. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Wrigley Stoner, 6, holds on to her mom, Suha Stoner, as they ice skate at Paséa Hotel & Spa in Huntington Beach, CA, on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Visitors to the Paséa Hotel & Spa ice skate in Huntington Beach, CA, on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Santa Ana resident Gloria Reynoso, center, looks out over Santa Ana’s first public ice skating rink at dusk as she enters with rink during the grand opening of the Santa Ana Winter Village in the Civic Plaza Center in Santa Ana in 2021. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Visitors to the Paséa Hotel & Spa ice skate in Huntington Beach, CA, on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Wrigley Stoner, 6, holds on to her mom, Suha Stoner, as they ice skate at Paséa Hotel & Spa in Huntington Beach, CA, on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Santa Ana residents line up along the ice skating rink to watch professional skater Jacqueline Schenk begin her performance in Santa Ana’s first public ice skating rink at the grand opening of the Santa Ana Winter Village in the Civic Plaza Center in Santa Ana in 2021. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Erica and Sam Bailey pose next to the holiday tree with their children Leah 5, and Adam, 3, as an ice rink staffer takes their photo at the Skating Under the Stars ice rink at the Irvine Spectrum Center in Irvine in 2022. The ice rink, located in the Giant Wheel Court is open daily through Jan. 8. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Santa Ana resident Gloria Reynoso, left, and her brothers, Joseph and Matthew Gutierrez, use skating aids to ice skate in Santa Ana’s first public ice skating rink during the grand opening of the Santa Ana Winter Village in the Civic Plaza Center in Santa Ana in 2021. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Santa Ana residents and others ice skate at Santa Ana’s first public ice skating rink during the grand opening of the Santa Ana Winter Village in the Civic Plaza Center in Santa Ana in 2021. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Alex Sidhu and Sandra Nguyen, both 21, of Irvine keep each other from falling at the Skating Under the Stars ice rink at the Irvine Spectrum Center in Irvine in 2022. The ice rink, located in the Giant Wheel Court is open daily through Jan. 8. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • A giant screen creates a colorful backdrop as families ice skate at the Skating Under the Stars ice rink at the Irvine Spectrum Center in Irvine in 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Pierce Bailey, 10, left, holds on to his sister Ryley, 12, as they skate at the Skating Under the Stars the Irvine Spectrum Center in Irvine in 2022. The ice rink, located in the Giant Wheel Court is open daily through Jan. 8. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Erica Bailey and her daughter Leah, 5, of San Clemente ice skate at the Skating Under the Stars ice rink at the Irvine Spectrum Center in Irvine in 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Costa Mesa

Winter Fest OC — which bills itself as Southern California’s largest winter festival — has taken over the OC Fair & Event Center. Several ice-related activities, including a 150-foot ice tubing slide and bumper cars, are offered in addition to an ice rink.

General admission tickets start as low as $25.99 for children and $30.99 for adults, while some discounts are available. Some activities, including skating the Arctic Ice Trail ice rink and Blizzard Bumpers, are additional costs. A note about the ice rink: Outside skates are not allowed; the 45-minute skating session includes skate rentals, and skate aids can be rented for an additional $15.

Winter Fest runs through Jan. 7 with special entertainment planned for around New Year’s. Find more information, including tickets for purchase, at winterfestoc.com.

Huntington Beach

Skate around with a background of palm trees and the ocean at the Paséa Hotel and Spa this holiday season.

For $35 per general admission ticket, you’ll get 90 minutes of skating along with skate rentals. You may bring your own skates, but that doesn’t change the ticket price. And if you missed Santa Claus, catch him at the rink from 5 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 27 before he heads back to the North Pole.

More information about the Paséa Hotel rink, open through Jan. 1, can be found online at paseahotel.com/oceanfront-ice-rink.

Irvine

Amid the bustle of holiday shoppers, glide around under the glow of Irvine Spectrum Center’s giant Ferris wheel at a rink sponsored by the Anaheim Ducks.

Tickets can be purchased at the ice rink booth in Spectrum’s Giant Wheel Court starting at $19 for children with their own skates and $21 for children who need to rent a pair. For adults, tickets start at $23 for those with their own skates or $25 including rentals.

The rink is closed on Christmas Day and has special hours for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. It runs through Jan. 7. Contact the box office at 714-742-0160 or check online at irvinespectrumcenter.com for more information.

Newport Beach

The Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort has been hosting an inaugural Fire & Ice Festival with a more than 4,000-square-foot rink that boasts water views.

Tickets are $25 and include skate rentals and 90 minutes on the rink. Helmets are available at no cost, but on a first-come basis. Skating aids can be rented for $10, and socks will be available for purchase.

Aside from the ice rink, the Fire & Ice Festival, open through Jan. 1, includes live entertainment on the weekends and fire dance performances. There’s an inflatable garden, fire pits, s’more kits and the “Lighting of the Bay.”

More information, including ticket purchases, can be found online at newportdunes.com/ice-skating-rink or by calling 949-375-8829.

Santa Ana

For the rest of the month, enjoy outdoor ice skating at Santa Ana’s Winter Village at the Orange County Civic Center’s Plaza.

For kids 3 to 12 years old, tickets are $5 for Santa Ana residents (with proof of residency) and $10 for non-residents for 90-minute sessions. For adults, tickets are $10 for residents of Santa Ana and $15 for those who aren’t. Skate rentals are included in the ticket price, and skating aids will be available to rent for an additional cost.

More information, including where to purchase tickets, can be found on the city’s website at santa-ana.org/winter-village.

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