Skate by the Yarra Before It Melts: Melbourne's Open-Air Ice Rinks
There is an ice rink under a big top by the river, and another at Fed Square. One of them closes on 8 July. Lace up while you can.
There is a window, and it is closing. For a few more weeks, you can go ice skating outdoors in the middle of Melbourne, under the open winter sky, and you should.
The headline rink is the Rink at RISING, an open-air ice rink under a big top down by the Yarra at Birrarung Marr. The skating is ticketed, but the precinct around it, riverside bars, food trucks, the general glow, is free to wander. The catch: it closes on 8 July, so this is genuinely a now-or-wait-a-year situation.
If you miss it
Fed Square's Winter Village runs a second rink, alpine-pop-up style, with private dining igloos and bars, and it sticks around into late August. So between the two, there is no real excuse.
Ice skating is the rare winter activity that is better because it is cold, and almost impossible to do badly with friends.
Why it works as a plan
Skating is the perfect low-stakes group outing: nobody is good at it, everyone looks slightly ridiculous, and being slightly ridiculous together is one of the fastest shortcuts to a good night there is. You do not need to be able to skate. You need about four people and a willingness to hold the rail.
Check session times and book ahead on the official pages, because winter weekends sell out. Then go fall over by the river while you still can.
Filed for The Dispatch. Pippa keeps the Dispatch diary, chasing what is on across the city so you do not have to.
