What does a winter of skating cost when you live on Field Boulevard or Benton Place? At the two rinks within walking distance, it can cost nothing. Each park attaches its own conditions to free skating, and at both, the best deal falls early in the day.
The Maggie Daley Park Ice Skating Ribbon goes first. Bookable sessions begin Friday, November 13, 2026, and the season's last ticket window ends on closing day, March 7, 2027. One week later, on Friday, November 20, the McCormick Tribune Ice Rink in Millennium Park returns with free admission. The BP Pedestrian Bridge connects the two parks, so the walk between them is short.
The ribbon sells its ice in two-hour pieces
Everything at the ribbon runs on a timed ticket. Maggie Daley Park requires every skater to hold a ticket for a specific session. It sells walk-up tickets only when a session hasn't sold out online, and it gives no refunds unless ribbon management closes the ice. Every session lasts two hours, and the ice is resurfaced between sessions.
On non-holiday weekdays there are four sessions, starting at 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays add a fifth session from 8 to 10 a.m. From December 11 through January 3, the ribbon runs five sessions a day from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., apart from shorter days on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. The holiday exceptions across the season:
- Thanksgiving, November 26: three sessions, with the last one ending at 4 p.m.
- Christmas Eve and Christmas Day: the same three-session schedule
- New Year's Eve: four sessions, with the last one ending at 7 p.m.
- Day after Thanksgiving, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents' Day: the full five-session weekend schedule
Tickets don't go on sale for the whole season at once. They're released at noon on set Mondays, each covering a block of about two weeks, with one longer block for the holidays. By Thursday, November 5, the first window has already opened:
- Monday, November 2: November 13 through November 29
- Monday, November 16: November 30 through December 10
- Monday, November 30: December 11 through January 3, the holiday season
- Monday, December 21: January 4 through January 17
- Monday, January 4: January 18 through January 31
- Monday, January 18: February 1 through February 14
- Monday, February 1: February 15 through February 28
- Monday, February 15: March 1 through closing day, March 7
The November 30 release covers the stretch with the most sessions, the holiday weeks from December 11 to January 3. It's also the only window that opens on the Monday right after Thanksgiving weekend.
On the ribbon, owning skates makes the biggest difference in price
Ribbon prices change with the day of the week and with whether you rent. Rental skates cost $17 online or $19 at the window Monday through Thursday. On Fridays, weekends, holidays and every day of the holiday season, they cost $21 online or $23 at the window.
Skaters who bring their own pay much less. Most sessions cost $5. Two sessions are free: the 11 a.m. session on non-holiday weekdays, and the 8 a.m. session on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays and holiday-season days.
| Ribbon session | Rental skates | Own skates |
|---|---|---|
| Mon–Thu, 11 a.m. | $17 online / $19 walk-up | Free |
| Mon–Thu, afternoon or evening | $17 online / $19 walk-up | $5 |
| Friday, 11 a.m. | $21 online / $23 walk-up | Free |
| Sat, Sun, holidays and holiday season, 8 a.m. | $21 online / $23 walk-up | Free |
| Sat, Sun, holidays and holiday season, later sessions | $21 online / $23 walk-up | $5 |
Fridays don't follow a single rule. They're priced like weekends for rentals, but the free session for skaters with their own pair follows the weekday schedule at 11 a.m. Opening day, November 13, is a Friday, so a renter pays $21 online that day and someone with their own skates on the 11 a.m. session pays nothing.
The ribbon has a few other costs. Skate aids cost $11, can't be reserved, and go first-come, first-served at your session time. Lockers in the fieldhouse cost $3 for a small one or $5 for a large one, and the rental lasts three hours. The kiosks take card swipes only. Rental sizes run from child 8 to adult 15, with no half sizes, which helps when deciding whether a pair at home is worth bringing.
The ribbon is the only part of the park running this winter. The climbing wall page says "Closed for the season," and its last top-rope climbing day was September 6. The fieldhouse holds the washrooms, lockers and rentals. The park's own site lists fieldhouse hours as 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, but the Chicago Park District listing shows 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., so check both before planning an evening around the building.
Millennium Park makes the opposite trade
The city's McCormick Tribune Ice Rink page lists it as open daily from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., weather permitting, from November 20 into February 2027, with free admission. As of this writing, the city says skating reservations "will be posted in the coming weeks," so it's not yet clear whether skaters will need to book ahead. The page doesn't list a price for public-skating rentals.
Admission is free at any hour, and the free skates come with lessons. From 9 to 10 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, the Chicago Youth Foundation teaches free classes at three levels: beginner, intermediate and hockey skills. Skate rental is free for lessons. The hockey class is for people who can already skate in hockey skates, not for beginners. Each level takes 20 registrants. Registration opens the Monday before each weekend, and parents or guardians who want to go on the ice with their children have to register too.
The city asks skaters to arrive by 8:45 a.m. If registered skaters haven't checked in by 9 a.m., their spots go to walk-ups. Cancellations go out by email by 7 a.m. the day of the lesson. Helmets are strongly encouraged for beginners. Power and manual wheelchairs are allowed on the ice with an escort on skates.
That makes Monday the planning day at both rinks. The ribbon releases each block of dates at noon on certain Mondays, and Millennium Park opens lesson registration every Monday for the coming weekend.
The lessons line up with the ribbon's schedule, too. A family can take the 9 a.m. class at Millennium Park, cross the BP Bridge, and be at the ribbon for its 11 a.m. weekend session. The free ribbon session on weekends is the earlier 8 a.m. one, so that 11 a.m. session will cost $5 a skater with their own skates or the weekend rental rate.
Opening night at Millennium Park draws a crowd
November 20 isn't a quiet first day at Millennium Park. The 113th annual City of Chicago Christmas Tree is lit at 6 p.m. that Friday near Michigan Avenue and Washington Street, and it stays up through January 10. The Millennium Park Holiday Market runs from noon to 8 p.m. on November 20 and 21 and from noon to 5 p.m. on November 22. The Holiday Sing-Along follows at 6 p.m. on the Fridays of December 4, 11 and 18.
The ribbon is open that whole week, with sessions that can be booked from November 13. Skaters who want their first time on the ice to be quieter have seven days of ribbon sessions before the tree lighting brings people to Michigan Avenue.
Navy Pier's Wintrust Winter WonderFest runs in Festival Hall from November 27, 2026, through January 3, 2027. It opens at 10 a.m. daily, and closing times vary by day. It overlaps almost exactly with the ribbon's holiday schedule, which makes late December the busiest stretch of the season on the east side of downtown.
For visitors who drive, Millennium Garages recommends the Millennium Lakeside Garage at 5 S. Columbus Drive for Maggie Daley Park and lists the Grant Park North Garage at 25 N. Michigan Avenue. Both are listed as open 24/7.
Where to warm up on the way home
Millennium Park has food at the rink. The city lists Momentum Coffee and Millennium Hall next to the ice for snacks and hot drinks. From the ribbon, the walk home through Lakeshore East passes several places that fit a two-hour skate:
- Eggy's Diner, 333 E. Benton Place, Suite 301, is a breakfast spot open daily, which suits the free 8 a.m. weekend session.
- MingHin Cuisine, Suite 300 in the same building, serves dim sum all day and says it's open 365 days a year, including the holidays when the ribbon closes at 4 p.m.
- Mariano's Lakeshore East, 333 E. Benton Place, has a coffee bar, bakery, hot pizza and a deli.
- Avli on The Park, 180 N. Field Boulevard, serves lunch, dinner and weekend brunch on the park.
- Brown Bag Seafood Co., 340 E. Randolph Street, is open daily and sits right on the walk back from Columbus Drive.
- Tre Dita and Miru, both at The St. Regis Chicago at 401 E. Upper Wacker Drive, are dinner options after a 5 p.m. session. Tre Dita is chef Evan Funke's Tuscan restaurant, and Miru is Japanese.
For more on the neighborhood's daily routine beyond winter, our guide to everyday life in Lakeshore East covers the parks, errands and transit.
Being able to walk to two downtown rinks is one of the perks of living in Lakeshore East. If you'd like to talk about what that's worth in your building, or how to show it to the next buyer, Eugene Fu Group is glad to talk it through this season. Schedule a private consultation.
