Ice skating in Brooklyn this winter mostly means one place: the LeFrak Center at Lakeside in Prospect Park, which reopened for the 2026–27 season on October 31 with two connected rinks, an outdoor oval and a covered rink, on the edge of Prospect Park Lake. Admission starts at $5 on Mondays, and the rink runs through the winter. For adults 21+ planning cold-weather weekends from December through February, here is how the place works.
The rink
The LeFrak Center opened in December 2013, designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects with the Prospect Park Alliance, and replaced the park's Wollman Rink, which dated to 1961. The Alliance describes about 30,000 square feet of skating surface across the connected covered and open-air rinks, overlooking the lake. A bridge links the two when both are running public sessions.
The address is 171 East Drive. The closest park entrances are at Lincoln Road and at Parkside and Ocean Avenues, and the Prospect Park station on the Q and the Franklin Avenue Shuttle sits at Lincoln Road, with the B stopping there on weekday daytimes. Parkside Avenue on the Q is the next stop south.
Public skate hours, 2026–27
The rink's posted public schedule for the season:
Open Air Rink
- Daily, 9 AM to 6 PM
- Friday and Saturday evenings, 7 PM to 10 PM
Covered Rink
- Monday to Thursday, noon to 4:45 PM
- Friday, noon to 5:15 PM, and 6:30 PM to 8:50 PM
- Saturday, noon to 4:45 PM, and 8 PM to 9:50 PM
- Sunday, noon to 4:45 PM
Hockey, lessons and private rentals take the ice around those windows, and the rink says schedules can change or be cancelled without notice, so the master schedule on its site is the thing to check on the day.
What it costs
Prices are posted with a cash price and a slightly higher card price; the cash figure is the discounted rate under New York's consumer protection rules, and the card price carries no separate surcharge.
- Daytime, Tuesday to Friday: $10 cash, $10.30 card
- Monday special: $5 cash, $5.15 card, except December 28, 2026 and January 18, 2027
- Seniors 65+, weekdays: $8 cash, $8.24 card
- Evenings from 6 PM, weekends and holidays: $15 cash, $15.45 card
- Skate rental: $10 cash, $10.29 card
Holiday pricing applies December 24, 2026 through January 1, 2027, and on January 18, 2027. The rink offers no refunds, credits or transfers. Skaters must be 14 or older to buy admission and rentals, and skaters 13 and under need a guardian 18 or older. Socks are required with rental skates.
Picking the session
The Monday special is the cheapest ice in the borough, and the weekday daytime sessions are the quiet ones. Weekend afternoons are when families fill both rinks. The covered rink matters in the Brooklyn winters that alternate sleet and sun: it keeps the ice usable on days the open-air oval is miserable, and its Friday and Saturday evening sessions run under a roof.
The Friday and Saturday open-air evenings, 7 to 10 PM, are the adult-feeling sessions, with the lake dark beyond the boards and the price at the $15 evening rate. Anyone coming for the holiday week should note that the whole stretch from Christmas Eve through New Year's Day is priced at the holiday rate.
Beyond public skate
The Lakeside programming runs past open skating. The Prospect Park Alliance lists learn-to-skate classes, youth and adult hockey, figure skating sessions and curling among the winter activities, and the rink takes private rentals. Registration and schedules sit on the rink's site.
A skating day, in order
Come in through the Lincoln Road entrance from the Prospect Park station and follow the signs to Lakeside, a short walk through the park. Buy admission and rentals at the cashier stations in the lobby, skate the open-air oval while the light holds, and move to the covered rink when the wind picks up. Afterward, the Lefferts Gardens and Flatbush blocks around the station have plenty of places to warm up, and Prospect Heights and Park Slope are a walk north and west through the park.
What else is running in the borough through the winter, from markets to museum nights, is on the events calendar.
For adults 21+
Prospect Park is a city park and a public space. New York state law prohibits cannabis consumption on state-owned land and in public spaces, and that covers the park, the lakeside paths and the rink grounds. A purchase from a licensed shop travels sealed and stays out of the park.
Licensed shops ring the park in Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights and Flatbush. Verify licensed status via the OCM QR code at cannabis.ny.gov before buying anywhere: licensed dispensaries post a scannable verification sticker near the entrance, and OCM's retailer finder at buylegal.cannabis.ny.gov lists every licensed location. The dispensary directory sorts Brooklyn's shops by neighborhood. Adults 21+ can buy up to three ounces of flower and 24 grams of concentrated cannabis, with a valid photo ID checked at every sale. For edibles, start low, go slow.
Driving while impaired by cannabis is illegal in New York, and the subway gets to the rink anyway.
FAQ
Where can I go ice skating in Brooklyn? The LeFrak Center at Lakeside in Prospect Park, 171 East Drive, has an open-air rink and a covered rink. It reopened for the 2026–27 season on October 31, 2026.
How much is ice skating at LeFrak Center? For 2026–27, daytime admission Tuesday to Friday is $10 cash, Mondays are $5, and evenings, weekends and holidays are $15. Skate rental is $10 cash, with card prices slightly higher.
What are the LeFrak Center skating hours? The Open Air Rink runs 9 AM to 6 PM daily plus 7 to 10 PM on Friday and Saturday. The Covered Rink runs from noon on most days, with Friday and Saturday evening sessions. Check the master schedule on the day.
Is the LeFrak rink covered? Partly. It has a covered rink and an open-air rink, connected by a bridge.
How do I get to LeFrak Center by subway? Take the Q or the Franklin Avenue Shuttle to Prospect Park, or the B on weekdays, and enter the park at Lincoln Road. Parkside Avenue on the Q is the other nearby stop.
