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Carolyn Kruse

Carolyn Kruse

Carolyn Kruse

Accolades For Blades: Boston Ranks As One Of The BEST Ice Skating Cities

By Carolyn Kruse

Accolades and more accolades coming in for our fair city. Only this time it’s accolades for blades. The website Lawnstarter has released it’s list of the best cities for ice skating in the country. And good news, Boston ranks as one of 2023’s Best Ice Skating Cities!

They looked for “cities with plenty of access to ice rinks, skating lessons, and hockey equipment.” Lawnstarter also took into consideration climate and local popularity based on “hockey teams, figure skating competitions, and Google searches.”

Winter is here are skates are hitting the ice all over New England. Maybe figure skating is your thing, speed skating or ice hockey (you know we love our hockey). Everyone is bundling up and hitting the rinks. So, which of the 200 biggest U.S. cities have the best opportunities for ice skating enthusiasts?

Let’s glide right into it. Below are the 10 best cities for ice skating in the country.

  • 1. St. Paul, Minnesota

    Brrr. Just hearing the name St. Paul sends shivers down my spin. Of course they love skating, everything is frozen.  Lawnstarter‘s top ice skating city, St. Paul, Minnesota, has a 15 ice rinks. That is the most out of all the cities. Skating in downtown is enormously popular.

  • 2. New York City, New York

    New York skid it’s way into 2nd place overall, with the most beginnier-friendly ice skating programs. Also, NYC and Pittsburgh have the 2nd best access to stores selling hockey equipment.

    Rockefeller Center Sold

    Skaters swirl around the skating rink at Rockefeller Center in New York. Rockefeller Cente. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Newsmakers)

     

     

  • 3. Boston, Massachusetts

    Here in Boston, we were ranked #3 overall. But performed an axel score the he second-highest number of ice rinks, tied with Buffalo, New York (No. 14 overall). We are a hockey town, and that placed us 3rd in popularity, with the highest number of combined professional and collegiate ice hockey teams. #GoBs! 

     

  • 4. Pittsburg, Pennsylvania

    Pittsburg earned high scores for gear access and lessons, coming in 2nd for those categories. Their rink access only earned 16th place. Overall, it’s a great city for skating which helped to earn Pittsburg the 4th best city status.

    Philadelphia Flyers v Pittsburgh Penguins - Game Two

    Fans watch the Philadelphia Flyers against the Pittsburgh Penguins on the big screen in front of the rink (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

     

  • 5. Minneapolis, Minnasota

    Minneapolis earned high scores for skating climate (obvi) and rink access and lessons. But didn’t fair so well for gear access, ironically. What good is a rink without the gear? The combined scores were good enough to rank in the top 5.

    2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic - St Louis Blues v Minnesota Wild

    An overview of the rink during the NHL Winter Classic game between the St. Louis Blues and the Minnesota Wild at Target Field on January 01, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Harrison Barden/Getty Images)

     

  • 6. Anchorage, Alaska

    It should be no surprise that Anchorage is #1 when it comes to ice skating climate. Their access to rinks and lessons also scored high, but gear access… not so much. The combined results brought “Anchortown” at #6 overall ranking.

  • 7. Chicago, Illinois

    The Windy City ranked very high for gear access, coming in at #2 in the country. They also earned high scores for rink access. But the popularity of the sport kept the city from ranking higher than #7.

  • 8. Grand Rapids, Michigan

    The climate of Grand Rapids clearly worked in their favor. Their local popularity based on hockey teams, figure skating competitions, and Google searches didn’t fare so well. Combing the good and the not so good, brought GR a top 8 rank.

  • 9. Denver, Colorado

    Skating in Denver is popular. They earned high scores in this category. However, gear access is a problem. Overall, Denver is ranked 9th in cities for ice skating.

  • 10. Madison, Wisconsin

    Earning the #5 spot for climate kept Madison in the game, as did rink access. But gear and lessons acces kept this Wisconsin city from ranking higher than #10.

  • 2 Other New England Cities Ranked in top 25

    Honorable mentions to Providence, RI which ranked #18 overall as one of the best ice skating cities. And Worcester, MA pulled in a #24 rank.

    Landmarks Across US Illuminated (RED) for World AIDS Day

    Providence’s Skating Rink is illuminated (RED) in honor of World AIDS Day. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images for (RED))

     

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