An open-air 8,000-square-foot downtown ice rink at 5th and Arizona — running mid-November through mid-January as Santa Monica’s signature winter tradition, two blocks from Third Street Promenade.
ICE at Santa Monica is the city’s signature winter tradition — an outdoor 8,000-square-foot ice rink at the corner of 5th Street and Arizona Avenue in Downtown Santa Monica, open daily from mid-November into mid-January. The current run is the rink’s 17th season, which makes it one of the most reliably-returning seasonal installations on the Westside.
The rink runs noon to 10 PM daily with skate rental, locker rental, lessons, themed nights, and family programming weaving through the season. Past programming has included weekly themed evenings, birthday-celebration nights, and a New Year’s Eve East Coast countdown for families wanting an early-evening rollover. Beginners welcome — adult and kid lessons run alongside open public sessions.
At 5th and Arizona, ICE sits in the heart of Downtown Santa Monica’s December atmosphere: Third Street Promenade‘s tree-lighting ceremony and holiday performances are two blocks west, and the Santa Monica Pier‘s waterfront programming is a few blocks south. The corner is one block from the Downtown Santa Monica E Line Metro station, which makes the rink one of the easiest Westside winter destinations to reach without driving.
The corner of 5th Street and Arizona Avenue, two blocks east of Third Street Promenade and one block from the Downtown Santa Monica Metro E Line station. Open-air; the rink is visible from the surrounding sidewalk and walkable around the perimeter without a ticket.
Noon to 10 PM daily through the season — mid-November opening into mid-January closing. Weekday afternoons are the lightest sessions; weekend evenings are the heaviest.
Yes — the rink is ticketed: skate session and skate rental are bundled at the door. Locker rentals available; lessons priced separately. Spectators can walk the perimeter without skating — the rink is fully visible from the surrounding sidewalk.
Built for all levels — open public sessions run all day with rental skates, and lessons for both kids and adults sit alongside the public sessions through the season. First-timers comfortable; experienced skaters have space; the rink is large enough that experience levels mix without pressure.
Yes — ICE sits one block from the Downtown Santa Monica Metro E Line station. The E Line connects from Downtown LA through Mid-City to Santa Monica, with the Downtown Santa Monica end-of-line stop directly adjacent. This is one of the most transit-friendly outdoor seasonal rinks in the LA basin. If you do drive, the Downtown Santa Monica parking structures along 4th and 5th Streets are within a block.
ICE at Santa Monica is the outdoor 8,000-square-foot seasonal ice rink at the corner of 5th Street and Arizona Avenue in Downtown Santa Monica — two blocks east of Third Street Promenade and three blocks from the Pier. Run by Downtown Santa Monica Inc., the program brings the rink to a temporary downtown footprint each winter, then strikes it after the season. The site sits one block from the Downtown Santa Monica Metro E Line station, making it one of the more transit-accessible outdoor rinks in the LA basin.
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